Low/Ground-level Letterboxes – Campaign Update 

Low/Ground-level Letterboxes – Campaign Update 

Branches will recall LTB 084/25 from April of last year, which reported ongoing efforts in pursuit of the union’s longstanding aspiration to make the industry standard minimum letterbox heights mandatory under the law for all new builds and new front doors.

This purpose of this LTB is to update Branches further on more recent developments and to advise of the appropriate steps in our continuing campaign.

In the late summer of last year, MP Annaleise Midgley (Knowsley) won support across the House of Commons for her Ten-Minute Rule Bill, the words of which were as follows:

‘That leave be given to bring in a Bill to amend building regulations to require letter boxes in new buildings to be positioned above a certain height; and for connected purposes.  That leave be given to bring in a Bill to amend building regulations to require letter boxes in new buildings and new front doors to be positioned in accordance with BSEN 13724 (2013).’

As Branches will be aware, the industry standard BSEN 13724:2013 (Annex B, Page 27), referring to the letterbox as the ‘aperture’, states: ‘For ergonomic reasons the lower edge of the lowest aperture and the upper edge of the highest aperture should be at a height between 700mm (approx. 2ft 3½in) and 1700mm (approx. 5ft 7in) measured from the delivery floor level.’

The challenge for us, following on from Parliament’s expression of general, cross-party support, is to place it within legislation. And the most achievable way forward, politically, is to include this with the forthcoming update/review of mandatory building regulations.

With this aim, Annaleise Midgley arranged for representatives from the Outdoor Department, along with the CWU’s Health & Safety Policy Assistant Jamie McGovern to join her in meeting Samantha Dixon MP (Chester North & Neston), who is the Under-Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government.

In the meeting, the Under-Secretary said that she supported the union’s case and informed us that, as well as the well-documented effects on postmen and postwomen of low-letterboxes, there has also been research which indicates detrimental impacts on residents, particularly those with disabilities or impaired movement.

She further explained that a report from the statutory building regulator is expected this month, which will make various recommendations on this and other housing-related matters and, from that point, there will be a formal stakeholder consultation process expected to be followed by formal changes to the building regulations. When we asked about the likely timescale for this, we were advised of approximately 12 months.

In the meantime, the Department is continuing to ask area delivery and area safety reps to assist in further strengthening the union’s case by continuing to undertake the following:

• Please monitor and note significant new build construction projects within your area;
• Please make contact with the respective local authority and the company concerned with regard to these projects, ensuring that they know about the recommended letterbox placement dimensions as advised by the relevant section of BSEN13724, the reasons why the CWU is prioritising this issue and request their compliance;
• Please note the details and report back to the Outdoor Department and/or Jamie McGovern.

Your assistance in this is much appreciated and the Department will communicate a further update on this campaign when the building regulator’s report is received by the Under-Secretary and the formal consultation process is opened.

Any enquiries to the content of this LTB should be directed to the Outdoor Department, email address: lpietrzykowska@cwu.org / pharacz@cwu.org.

Yours sincerely,

Tony Bouch
Assistant Secretary

LTB 015-26 – Low and Ground-level Letterboxes – Campaign Update

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