#Postbox label update

It’s good to see Royal Mail trying out something new (there’s another one near Battersea Square) – and with ever more being sent by parcel delivery, we suspect this will be a useful local facility. The box itself was actually there before, but for business use only (for those with a franking machine who are typically sending out a lot of letters) – we suspect its location was deliberately close to Battersea Business Centre! The post box still also accepts franked mail, but it’s had a repaint and a general makeover to become a parcel postbox. Obviously this only works for standard parcels – if you want tracked delivery or other services, you’ll need to be visiting the post office. If you’re posting something with a returns label (which will usually have a barcode on it), you can just post it directly – but if you’re creating a new parcel you’ll need to be able to weigh the parcel (which means digging the kitchen scales out, or making an informed guess if you’re brave and / or send a lot of parcels), and then buy a postage label online and print it at home.

Standard postage services can take a maximum weight of up to 20Kg, though unless you run a lead weight shipment business you’ll struggle to make a parcel that size weigh that much. The postbox is rather larger than the usual design, and its secure slot can fit parcels up to 44cm x 35cm x 16cm. It’s ideal for anyone selling small volumes of goods on ebay or amazon, as well as for the likes of ASOS returns. 'However, they could have done considerably more to demonstrate their motives for taking action now,' she said. 'For example, announcing the change in conjunction with some sort of collaboration with schools to celebrate their history and look to their future would have given it a more community-spirited context and less opportunity for it to be interpreted as a politically motivated response.Lavender Hill now has a special postbox for parcels – it’s on Tipthorpe Road about half way along, next to The Crown pub, and right beside an existing letterbox (Google map of the precise location here). Rachel Catanach, senior vice president and managing director of FleishmanHillard in Hong Kong, said while it’s inevitable that the decision to remove the royal cipher would be interpreted this way by some people, it should not have come as a surprise as it is almost 20 years since the handover.įrom a PR perspective, the Hong Kong Post Office has tried to ease the transition by committing to put seven of the old boxes on display for tourists, Catanach added. Given Hong Kong’s recent political turbulence in the wake of democracy protests against Chinese rule last years, the decision is being seen by some as a tightening of Beijing’s grip on Hong Kong and its rejection of its colonial past. We will listen to and study the views of stakeholders, and will make an announcement after making a decision.' 'In parallel, government is considering the best way to conserve old posting boxes.

#Postbox label update

The decision will affect just 59 historic cast-iron post boxes, which were painted green after the transfer of sovereignty to China in July 1997, out of a total 1,150 in Hong Kong.Īfter much public clamouring and several media enquiries as to why the decision was taken, a spokesperson for Hongkong Post said: 'The government considers it inappropriate to display the crown and the British royal cipher on old posting boxes that are still in service, and is looking into ways to update the markings on these boxes.

Authorities in Hong Kong have chosen to remove the British royal ciphers from old post boxes, prompting critics to say the country is trying to rub out its own history.