Royal Mail on the move?
ROYAL Mail’s Inverness sorting office in Strothers Lane may close and operations moved to a site on the edge of the A9.
The postal giant’s plans emerged after a change of use application was lodged with Highland Council.
It it, Royal Mail describes its current site as having access problems and space constraints.
“This site has limited yard space around the building for loading, and the parking area for the operational vehicles is across the public highway in Railway Terrace,” said a report supporting the application.
“The proposals are to move the entire operation into a presently unoccupied warehouse at 50 Seafield Road, on the Longman Industrial Estate. This will improve the efficiency of the operation.”
Any move would be reliant on the change of use application being approved. At present, 50 Seafield Road is earmarked for general industrial use. It would need to be designated as being for storage and distribution use if the Royal Mail was to make it its new Inverness base.
The report describes the Strothers Lane site as “significantly constrained in terms of space and access” and adds that the new building has a floor space of 5044sqm.
“The proposals represent a significant investment in Inverness,” it adds.
When asked if the “significant investment” would lead to further jobs a Royal Mail spokeswoman stressed that no decision over relocating the Strothers Lane site had yet been taken.
They added: “There are no immediate plans to change the way we sort or deliver mail in the Inverness area.
“Royal Mail operates an open and honest policy with our staff and any modernisation or efficiency proposals are always discussed first with them.”
Although the Royal Mail said its plans were still at a very early stage, one of the reports submitted was a detailed 52 page document, with appendices, exploring the potential impact of the new site on local roads.
