Proposed Cubie Street Sorting Office Closure

This is the first in a series of three updates on the closure of the Royal Mail Sorting Office at 130 Cubie Street, Glasgow, G40 2AF and subsequent relocation to Glasgow South East Delivery Office, 14 Fullarton Drive, Glasgow, G32 8FA. Part 2: ‘Update’ is here. Part 3: ‘Proposed Changes’ is here.

Royal Mail is proposing the closure of Cubie Street sorting office in January 2013 with a transfer of services to a facility in Cambuslang.

Members of community councils for Calton, Bridgeton, Dalmarnock, and Dennistoun are concerned about the impact this move will have on the local residents and businesses that they represent.   There is also dismay at Royal Mail’s lack of engagement and communication about the move.

The Cubie Street sorting office serves over 25,000 people in one of the most deprived areas of Glasgow. In a city containing the highest percentage of non-drivers in the UK, Royal Mail plan to move a key local facility three miles to the east, in Cambuslang, to a location where the nearest bus stop is a twenty minute walk away through an industrial estate. There has been no consultation with the public, nor with elected officials, yet posties have been told the move is scheduled for January. The current sorting office is exceptionally well used, and for those without online access it’s currently difficult enough to arrange a redelivery. The alternative of delivering to a local post office for a fee of £1.50 is seen by many as an attempt to raise company profits via the poorest people in Scotland.

Royal Mail’s response to the enquiries of elected officials has been indefinite statements regarding how plans are in the very early stages, and no final decision has yet been made. Talking with individual delivery staff provides a very different story, as they have been informed months ago that the closure of the Cubie Street sorting office will occur in January 2013.

None of the alternative services offered are satisfactory. One option is to arrange re-delivery of missed packages via Royal Mail’s website. This, however, is not accessible to a significant percentage of the local population, primarily those for whom the journey to the new facilities will prove most arduous. Phoning for a redelivery can require long waiting times, and there is no guarantee that this situation will improve with move to the new sorting office. Re-delivery to a local post office costs £1.50 for an item. The opt-out of packages being left with neighbours may lead to vast numbers of items going missing.

DCC, along with community councils and elected members in the G31 and G40 postcode areas, urge Royal Mail to balance service with profits and stop the closure of Glasgow’s Cubie Street sorting office.

You can help by doing the following:

• Visit and like the facebook site at www.facebook.com/SOSOCubieSt
• Sign and share the online petition at http://www.change.org/en-GB/petitions/royal-mail-stop-the-closure-of-glasgow-s-cubie-street-sorting-office
• Attend the public meeting which will be held at Bridgeton Community Learning Campus, 68 Dale Street, Bridgeton, G40 4TL at 1:00pm on Saturday 17th November 17th.
• Collect signatures.  We aim to collect petition signatures between 10:30am and 2:30pm this coming Saturday (3rd November), and on Saturday 10th November. The number of places we can cover depends on volunteers. The Dennistoun post offices would be the ideal venues until they close at 12.30, and thereafter at other locations widely used (perhaps Co-op and Lidl). Can you help out?
• Contact the campaign via sosocubiest@yahoo.com

Save Our Sorting Office!