Royal Mail to merge sorting sites

Royal Mail said delivery and collections would not be affected

Royal Mail has announced the closure of two mail distribution centres in the Thames Valley.

After a period of public consultation the company has decided to press ahead with a plan to consolidate its centres in Oxford, Reading and Swindon.

The new Thames Valley Mail Centre will be based at an expanded Swindon site.

Building work at Swindon is due to be completed by October and the transfer of work from Reading and Oxford is scheduled for June 2009.

A spokesman for Royal Mail said it was unclear at this stage how jobs would be affected but he said they would be carrying out consultations with staff.

Outdated and unsuitable

In a statement, the company said: "In a fully competitive postal market Royal Mail needs to change and this project represents a big step forward in making changes that will benefit our customers, our business and our people.

"Some £20 million is being invested in this project and once complete, the new Thames Valley Mail Centre at Swindon will be the largest, state of the art mail centre in the country."

Reading's mail centre was "no longer fit for purpose" said the company as it was high maintenance, outdated and unsuitable.

Instead a new delivery office for central Reading will be developed.

The company added that delivery and collection operations across the Swindon and Oxford postcode areas would not be affected.