Removal of Postal Address from Rural Properties across The Highland Council Area

The Highland Council has written to Royal Mail to express its concern at the deletion of a number of postal addresses from second homes across The Highland Council area.

The Council fears that the owner/occupier of such a property will have difficulty purchasing services, such as insurance, or advising emergency services of an incident, because the deletion of the postal code also removes proof that the property exists.  Many organisations use the Royal Mail data base to verify addresses of customers.

Communities particularly affected include the Applecross Peninsula, Carbost, Fiskavaig, Lochcarron, Raasay, Shieldaig and Strathconon.

The Council wants reinstatement of the postal codes on the properties that don’t receive regular mail as quickly as possible to avoid significant inconvenience to owners/residents.

Councillor Ian Ross, Chairman of the Council’s Planning Environment and Development Committee, said: “The increase in the volume of deletions carried out recently in the Highlands indicates a major change in the approach taken by Royal Mail.  I understand this may be the result of an error in the system. Nonetheless, I have written to Royal Mail highlighting the problems caused by their move and seeking an assurance that these addresses will be reinstated.”

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