Oxford News
I tried Royal Mail’s new digital post box and they are unusable
Royal Mail’s new ‘post boxes of the future’ were introduced at the start of this year, and have sparked considerable debate about accessibility.
The change has been labelled Royal Mail’s “biggest redesign in its 175-year history”, and features a solar-panelled top, a QR code and scanning machine.
Royal Mail claims the new post boxes offer a “convenient way” to send small parcels without needing to go to the post office.
Armed with a friend’s birthday present, I went to test out just how easy they are to use.
The digital post box, which now accepts parcels, was difficult and confusing to use (Image: Newsquest)
As a 25-year-old woman who grew up in the 2000s, I have spent a lifetime teaching older family members how to use QR codes and apps. I assumed I would have no issue using the new post box as a ‘techy’ Gen Z.
Immediately upon arriving at the post box near Ellendune Community Centre in Wroughton, I realised I was wrong.
Instructions on the box say to “press the button to activate the scanner, scan the label’s barcode, and then pop the parcel in the drawer.”
The first issue was obvious – I did not have a parcel label or a barcode and I did not have access to a printer to print one off.
Determined not to give in and go to a post office, I asked a friend to print off my parcel label (extra admin time spent on the Royal Mail website) and returned again for take two.
Instructions on the post box were small and confusing (Image: Newsquest)
For proof of posting, I had to scan a QR code to download the Royal Mail app, and answer a series of questions about my parcel.
This took 10 minutes stood outside battling poor signal and confusing questions.
I had no idea how much my parcel weighed and was adamant I wasn’t going back home again to pull out the scales.
In the end, I took an educated guess, and couldn’t help thinking this would be easier in a post office with a scale and someone helping me scan my parcel.
For me, the new digital post box was a manageable but unnecessary faff. For my grandparents, it would be unusable.
Even if they could navigate the digital challenges of downloading the app, scanning the barcode and figuring out small print instructions, the time it took stood outside was enough to make anyone’s feet tired.
For posting regular letters, the post box works exactly as before.
I can see no issues, although I do think the replacement of crocheted post-box toppers with solar panels is a shame.
When it comes to posting parcels however, I’ll be sticking to my regular post office.
Oxford News
Real reason for Beckham family fallout with Brooklyn revealed
Brooklyn, 27, had shared a statement on social media in January, making several accusations about his parents, David, 51, and Victoria, 52.
The source of the tension was reportedly his relationship with his fiancée, Nicola Peltz, 31.
According to the Daily Mail, things became so strained that Brooklyn and his parents were not on speaking terms for some three months before his wedding to Nicola in Palm Beach, in April 2022.
Despite the family rift, the Beckhams maintained a united front for the cameras at the wedding, and posted adoring posts on social media after the event.
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Lady Victoria Beckham with her family. (Image: Victoria Beckham / Instagram)
Brooklyn’s accusations included claims that Victoria ‘hijacking’ his first dance with Nicola and danced with him ‘inappropriately’ in front of his 500 guests.
He also alleged that the fashion designer pulled out of making Nicola’s dress at the last minute.
Following these accusations, Brooklyn reportedly issued a legal notice to his parents, instructing them to only contact him through his lawyers.
An insider told The Sun that Brooklyn felt his parents ignored his wishes and continued to mention him online instead of reaching out privately.
The insider said: “Truly, people do not know the full facts of this heart-breaking tale, and think Brooklyn was just being truculent when he blocked his parents.
The reality is that he issued them with a letter at the end of last summer, asking for any correspondence to go via lawyers only, and wanted to try and make amends privately not publicly.”
Oxford News
£7 billion East West Rail Oxford to Milton Keynes row solved
Instead, Chiltern Railways has started hiring Customer Service Inspectors—roles that closely resemble the duties of traditional guards.
Oxford’s new railway line to Milton Keynes has been complete for almost two years, but passenger trains still aren’t running.
The move comes after the Government’s initial instruction to adopt driver-only operation, with unions demanding that a guard be present.
The new inspectors, to be based at the Bletchley depot—home to East West Rail services—will undertake tasks including customer care, revenue protection, making on-train announcements, and reporting or rectifying faults.
While a second staff member will typically be present, train doors will still be operated by drivers, meaning the absence of a second staff member in rare cases will not prevent a service from running—mirroring practices commonly seen south of London.
45 drivers have been recruited for the new service, but no guards.
An internal government document confirms issues at Winslow station will not obstruct operation, and the fleet of trains has been upgraded with ‘Superpower mode’ to enhance acceleration and meet a tight timetable.
The project delays have already taken a significant financial toll.
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Six two-carriage trains have accumulated £2.6m in costs due to delays in their lease.
Currently idle in a Bletchley depot, these units are costing the Department for Transport money without generating any fare income.
Previously, the rail industry attributed setbacks to complications in finalising Winslow station.
However, observers note this typically does not stop a line from launching, as seen with the Northumberland Line, which managed to start operations even with incomplete stations.
A total of 45 drivers have been recruited for the new service, but the absence of guards, also known as ‘train managers’, has proved more contentious.
The Government has been pushing for ‘Driver-Controlled’ or ‘Driver-Only Operation’—a cost-saving method introduced widely on London commuter lines in the 1980s.
However, this system’s extension to new lines has faced staunch resistance from rail unions, who have fielded several disputes over the years, the most recent of which extended more than four years with South Western Railway.
The stalemate over guards has ultimately stalled the Oxford-Milton Keynes route, but the introduction of the ‘Customer Service Inspector’ role now seems to pave the way for the resolution, hinting at imminent rides for the eagerly awaiting passengers.
The Government previously said trains from Oxford to Milton Keynes are being lined up to appear in the December rail timetable.
In a written statement, rail minister Lord Peter Hendy said: “Chiltern worked with Network Rail, the Department for Transport and other operators on the December 2026 timetable and services have been timetabled between Oxford, Winslow, Bletchley and Milton Keynes.”
Oxford News
215 homes, care home and retirement village plans approved
Cherwell District Council has backed the plans to transform the 14-hectare brownfield site at Islip Fuel Depot, a former RAF fuel depot near Islip village.
The plans include 150 homes, of which half will be affordable, up to a 70-bed care home and up to 65 retirement units, subject to 20 conditions.
These will replace the decommissioned Islip Fuel Depot off Bletchingdon Road, which was taken over by the Esso Petroleum Company in the 1960s before being shut down in 1991.
The current state of the decommissioned Islip Fuel Depot (Image: Barwood Development Securities Ltd and NCM Real Re)
Under approval conditions, the developer must contribute almost £5m to local services, councils and police, under S106 contributions.
More than £300,000 will go towards local services. This includes improvements to Household Waste Recycling, Kidlington Library and Islip Medical Practice, or an identified primary care project in the local area.
The district council requested more than £1m in contributions towards enhancing community hall facilities, outdoor and indoor sport provision, a community development worker and fund, and public art.
Oxfordshire County Council requested more than £3.6m in financial contributions, including almost £3m towards primary and secondary education.
Thames Valley Police requested more than £30,000 towards additional staff, vehicles, premises, equipment and ANPR cameras.
In the case officer’s report, Katherine Daniels noted that while the proposal would result in the development of a substantial site on the edge of the village with some landscape and visual harm, weight is given to the benefits.
One of those is the council not being currently able to demonstrate a five-year supply of deliverable housing land.
She said: “The delivery of market housing attracts significant positive weight and the affordable housing provision attracts very substantial positive weight given the acute need for affordable homes across the District.
“National policy and guidance recognise the pressing need to provide accommodation for older persons and specialist housing to meet changing demographics. The proposal would make an important contribution towards addressing that need.”
Weight is also given to the redevelopment of the “largely redundant” brownfield site.
Illustrative views of the proposed development at the decommissioned Islip Fuel Depot (Image: Barwood Development Securities Ltd / NCM Real Re)
She said: “The proposal would secure remediation of contaminated land, environmental improvements and the beneficial reuse of previously developed land in accordance with national and local planning objectives.”
The site was first thought to be within Oxford Green Belt but officers concluded the site constitutes Grey Belt land.
She said: “The proposal would not result in unacceptable impacts in respect of highway safety, heritage assets, ecology, flooding, drainage, contamination, residential amenity or infrastructure provision.
“These matters can be appropriately addressed through planning conditions and planning obligations.”
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