September 28, 2026 - 239 views
Royal Mail says postal services are improving in the Colwyn Bay area after months of delays, with staffing problems and changes to delivery arrangements blamed for disruption.
Residents in Rhos-on-Sea, Colwyn Bay and Old Colwyn have reported problems receiving post, while complaints have also been made in Abergele, Towyn, Kinmel Bay, Denbigh, Ruthin and other parts of North Wales.
The delays have caused particular concern where letters contain important information, including medical appointments, test results, legal correspondence, bills and official documents.
Clwyd MS Darren Millar says he has been working with local councillors, including Cheryl Carlisle and Jo Nuttall, to raise concerns with Royal Mail.
After being dissatisfied with the company's initial response, Mr Millar demanded a meeting with senior Royal Mail representatives, which took place last week.
According to an update issued by Mr Millar, Royal Mail apologised and acknowledged that services had fallen below the required standards in recent months.
The company said changes made earlier this year to the way second-class post is handled had resulted in changes to working practices and placed “unprecedented demand” on delivery staff.
Royal Mail says those changes are now fully embedded and performance is improving.
The Colwyn Bay area has also been affected by staffing problems at the local sorting office, including long-term sickness.
Royal Mail says there has been a change of management and a recruitment drive, with new staff now helping to improve the timeliness of deliveries.
Other sorting offices in Llandudno, Rhyl and Denbigh have also experienced staffing difficulties, although Royal Mail says these have not been as significant and the problems have now been resolved.
Royal Mail has also told Mr Millar that some delays involving NHS correspondence are not solely down to postal deliveries.
The company says some health service correspondence has not been posted using first-class services and that there have also been delays in processing letters.
Royal Mail is now working with Betsi Cadwaladr University Health Board to address those issues.
Mr Millar said residents deserve a reliable postal service and that improvements were urgently needed.
He said he would continue to monitor the situation to ensure the problems are fully resolved.
Residents are being urged to report ongoing delivery problems so that continuing issues can be identified and addressed.
