Royal Mail is shaking up its offering by introducing a brand new service which will see postal workers collect parcels right from your doorstep for the very first time.
The new service – which launches across the UK today – is known as Parcel Collect.
Put quite simply, it means people will be able to send parcels without the need to leave the house, as customers who make use of the service will be asked to pay a fee of 72p on top of standard postage costs for every parcel they send, with pre-paid return items only costing 60p each.
Royal Mail said the collection service was one of the biggest changes to the daily round of postal workers since the postbox was launched in 1852 and he first parcel post was introduced in 1883.
It comes as the national postal service’s response after it has struggled with the shift away from letters to parcels as firms rely more on email for routine communications and consumers become more comfortable with online shopping and returning items.
ADVERTISEMENT
So, how does the service work then?
Well, postal workers can now collect up to five items per customer per day, every day of the week (apart from Sundays) and packages must be no bigger than 61cm x 46cm x 46cm in volume, and 20kg in weight.
ADVERTISEMENT
We’ve launched a brand new parcel pick-up service across the UK!
‘Parcel Collect’ allows you to book a collection of items directly from your front door or a nominated safe place for a small fee.
Upon declaring the size and weight of the package, customers will then be able to work out the correct cost of postage for their item and print out a pre-paid label.
Items will be collected from the door, or from a safe place on the property chosen by the customer.
Customers will be able to make bookings only via Royal Mail’s “click and drop” online service up to five days in advance until midnight on the day before collection, and then the service will provide collection slots of between two and four hours.
ADVERTISEMENT
You can head to the Royal Mail website here, or use the Royal Mail app and opt for ‘Parcel Collect’ to use the service.
The coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic has accelerated the shift to online shopping – with restrictions closing non-essential high street shops for months during 2020 – and Royal Mail reported a £139m increase in total revenue in the five months to 30th August, as circumstances caused a surge in parcel deliveries.
Parcel volumes during that period rose by a third year-on-year, with an increase of 177 million parcels.
Trending
Drinks prices revealed as Manchester Airport’s first-ever Wetherspoons pub opens inside T2
Emily Sergeant
It’s official… Manchester Airport’s first-ever JD Wetherspoon pub has officially opened its doors inside Terminal 2.
The 300-seater pub – which welcomed its first customers earlier this week – is named The Belle Vue after Manchester’s historic showground.
Throughout the pub, you’ll spot design features that nod to the city’s sporting heritage – including vintage event posters and memorabilia, a ‘locker wall’ hosting trophies and other sporting exhibits, and a cricket-themed design in the carpets and bar panels.
Creating around 150 jobs in the process, The Belle Vue is the final planned new eatery to open in the airport’s redeveloped Terminal 2, marking one of the final steps in the super-terminal’s decade-long, £1.5bn transformation.
Manchester Airport’s first-ever Wetherspoons pub has opened inside Terminal 2 / Credit: Supplied
According to the MEN, pints are priced from £6.20 for Carling and Coors lager, £6.45 for Budweiser, £6.60 for Guinness, and £6.70 for Poretti and 1664 Biere.
Prosecco is £9.20 for 175ml glass and £37.10 for the full bottle, while spirts and mixers are £6.80 for singles and £10.20 for doubles.
There’s also the classic Wetherspoons tea and coffee machines, where you can refill as many times as you like for just £3.60.
“It’s a proud moment to see the final new retail unit opening in our new-look Terminal 2,” commented Richard Jackson, who is the Retail Director at Manchester Airport.
“To be rounding off this 10-year programme by adding such an iconic name as Wetherspoon to the terminal is particularly special and we know that it will prove extremely popular with passengers. We think they’ll love the nods to Manchester’s heritage in the décor and design – and of course the name.”
The Belle Vue will be open from the first flight to the final flight each day, and food will be served from opening until 10pm.
Featured Image – Supplied
Trending
Iconic Manc movie 24 Hour Party People is set to return to cinemas for its anniversary
Emily Sergeant
One of Manchester’s most iconic movies is set to return to the big screen next month.
Remastered in 4K and returning to UK cinemas to mark 24 years since its original release, Michael Winterbottom’s 2002 biographical comedy drama film, 24 Hour Party People, tells the story of Manchester‘s popular music community from 1976 to 1992 – specifically about Factory Records‘ founder Tony Wilson.
The film begins with the punk rock era of the late 1970s, before moving through the 1980s into the rave and DJ culture, and of course, the ‘Madchester‘ scene of the late 1980s and early 1990s.
The narrative largely follows the career of Tony Wilson, played by Middleton-born actor Steve Coogan, while also covering the careers of the major Factory Records artists – especially Joy Division and New Order, as well as A Certain Ratio, The Durutti Column, and Happy Mondays.
If you haven’t seen 24 Hour Party People before, it’s a dramatisation based on a combination of real events, rumours, and urban legends, as the film is sure to make clear.
Coogan is joined by a cast by a mixture of big names and, at the time, rising stars like Paddy Considine, Shirley Henderson, Lennie James, John Simm, Ralf Little, Andy Serkis, Sean Harris, John Thomson, and even Peter Kay, alongside cameos from other figures connected to the Manchester music scene.
Before it returns to cinemas, the film will first open music and media festival/conference, Beyond The Music, at MediaCity in Salford on 6 October.
The screening at the festival will also be followed by a Q&A with Coogan, Winterbottom, and producer Andrew Eaton.
24 Hour Party People will then be re-released in UK cinemas from 9 October, and you can check your local cinema for screening times and book tickets online now.
Emily Sergeant -
21st October 2020 
