Saddleworth villagers are refusing to use newly installed digital post boxes in Dobcross, Delph and Diggle, arguing the Royal Mail scheme drains money from village shops and strips communities of personal service.

The boycott began after Royal Mail replaced traditional boxes with digital versions that accept small parcels for out-of-hours posting. Councillor Garth Harkness warned the switch diverts revenue straight to Royal Mail while leaving post offices with nothing, threatening the survival of stores that double as local hubs.

“These changes could significantly impact the viability of the post offices and shops and leave no coverage of post offices in the area,” Harkness said. “For larger items, support with forms and collections etc, residents will then need to travel elsewhere. It is clear that some residents would struggle with a new digital drop off point.”

Community organisers Alison Broadbent in Delph and Janet Iles in Diggle are urging neighbours to shun the boxes, saying the machines undermine centuries-old village centres. At Dobcross Village Store, co-op members Nathan Beckwith and Suzanne Wright said the income from parcels keeps their conservation-area shop afloat: “While we are not against progress and appreciate the needs of customers to post out of hours, as a community coop we depend on the income stream from packages and parcels.” Villagers say they will keep handing mail to counter staff to protect both livelihoods and the personal touch they fear the digital boxes erase.

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