A stack of unopened mail has been discovered at the former Tourist Information Centre (TIC) in Bury St Edmunds – which has opened the borough council up to more criticism over how it has handled the closure.

Someone who has viewed the empty ground-floor premises of 6 Angel Hill – which used to be home to the TIC – said there was mail inside the door, including handwritten letters and those with first-class stamps.

The person, who did not wish to be named, said the post dated back to at least August 5 this year.

They said: “It just seems we are not presenting Bury St Edmunds in the best way.”

The decision by St Edmundsbury Borough Council to close the award-winning centre has come under fire, with a number of people saying it had not been planned properly.

Since the TIC shut on June 1, the main centre for tourist information is at the Apex, with a network of tourist information points (TIPS) around the town, such as at the cathedral and Moyse’s Hall Museum.

Speaking of the unopened mail, Bury Society chairman Karen Hurden said: “I hope the borough are looking into this.

“There were a lot of handwritten letters there and people have gone to a lot of trouble to get in touch and they haven’t heard anything.”

Borough councillor Julia Wakelam could not understand why the mail had not been redirected. She said: “That’s very disappointing actually. It just shows how ill-planned the whole thing was.”

Councillor Sarah Stamp, cabinet member with responsibility for operational tourism, said: “It does appear that collection of the post from the old building hasn’t always been carried out as regularly as it should have been, and I would like to apologise to anyone who hasn’t received a prompt response to an enquiry. Arrangements are now in place to rectify this.”

She said the positive feedback from visitors backed up that the changes to a network of TIPs had improved the service.

She added there had also been increased footfall at the Apex, cathedral and Moyse’s Hall since the changes had come in.