West Suffolk Council writes to Royal Mail over possible breach of planning at its Bury St Edmunds delivery office in Skyliner Way

A business that has been accused of shifting its parking problems onto residential streets has been contacted over a possible planning breach.

Pressure has been mounting on Royal Mail to be ‘responsible neighbours’ following its decision to ban its staff from parking their own vehicles at its delivery office in Skyliner Way, on Moreton Hall, Bury St Edmunds.

SuffolkNews understands West Suffolk Council has written to Royal Mail over a possible breach of planning at the delivery office.

After looking at Royal Mail’s planning approval for its Skyliner Way site, Andy McGowan, vice-chair of the Moreton Hall Residents’ Association, believes it is in breach of its permission.

There are 36 car parking spaces specifically allocated for private car parking for staff, which means they should not be used by Royal Mail vans, and 52 spaces for official vehicles.

It is understood that, following an officer site visit, the area for private parking is currently being used for official Royal Mail vehicles.

Previously, Royal Mail confirmed it could no longer accommodate staff members’ personal vehicles at the delivery office in Skyliner Way due to the growth of its fleet and safety concerns following ‘incidents’ due to congestion in the car park. It employs 160 people at the office.

Mr McGowan said: “I feel it’s absolutely vital we get it resolved as soon as possible. While we cannot put this morning’s accident [in Skyliner Way] down to what is going on with Royal Mail, it’s only a matter of time before an accident is going to happen.

“You have got traffic going effectively down a single lane because of the parked vehicles.”

Residents say parking problems along Skyliner Way and nearby residential roads, such as Primack Road, have been exacerbated by Royal Mail’s decision towards the end of last year preventing staff from parking personal vehicles on site.

Mr McGowan said the parking problems were having a ‘massive’ impact on residents, and added: “It’s a massive safety issue and flies in the face of what Royal Mail said they were going to do when they built the site.”

A planning statement submitted with the application said the level of staff car parking spaces was ‘necessary’ due to how early staff would need to attend to prepare for delivery operations, when there is no public transport available.

It added: “The proposed site is out of town so there will be no detrimental impact on residents in Bury St Edmunds.”

Mr McGowan added: “Royal Mail really need to recognise their role in the community and recognise they are part of the Moreton Hall community.

“What they are failing to acknowledge is they are moving that risk of incidents on their own site to the risk of incidents on the street in Skyliner Way and surrounding roads.”

Moreton Hall councillor Birgitte Mager praised the residents’ association’s ‘persistence and due diligence’ and said when a councillor worked with a residents’ association ‘results can happen’.

The parking issue has been raised by the Moreton Hall Residents’ Association while both the district and county council said they were aware and trying to resolve it.

Cllr Cliff Waterman, leader of West Suffolk Council, said: “We have been requesting a meeting with the Royal Mail who tell us they have only received one complaint about this issue.

“We are continuing to request a meeting with them to discuss the issue and how it may swiftly and practically be resolved for the benefit of the community and the business.”

A Royal Mail spokesperson said: “We’ll be engaging with the council on this.”

Previously, they said: “All staff members have been asked to park safely and responsibly and recent visits to the area by the local health and safety manager show this guidance has been followed.”