Concerns are being raised that a village’s main post box will not be replaced because Royal Mail is cutting costs.

That is the claim made by Great Finborough’s parish council chairman, Norman Vendittelli, as the village near Stowmarket, has now been without the post box for more than seven weeks. He said: “Of the 360 or so properties in this village this centrally sited post box serves well over 300.“With a bus service that only operates two days a week this post box is essential especially, but not only, to those who have no personal transport or are too old or infirm to make a long journey into the town. Many local businesses also rely on the post box. “The parish council remains very concerned that Royal Mail does not intend to replace this box because it is exploiting the opportunity as a cost cutting exercise. Royal Mail: get your finger out and fulfil your responsibility to reinstate the essential community service you have wilfully withdrawn in breach of your duties.”John Matthissen, district councillor for the village, said he wanted progress “in the next 48 hours”.He added that the two nearest post boxes were each around a mile away from the village centre. A Royal Mail spokeswoman said: “All searches have now been completed and a new box has been ordered for the site requested. It can take up to six weeks for a box to be installed. Customers can use the other post boxes in the meantime.“Royal Mail is compliant with the Ofcom criteria, where in the UK, 98.4% of households are within half a mile of a post box.”She added that many post boxes contained “little or no mail” but Royal Mail was “committed” to maintaining the 115,000 boxes nationwide.