A MOVE to reduce delivery services to a Suffolk town has been described as "a further blow to the rural business community".Saxmundham's postal customers are to receive their mail once a day from the beginning of next month, but Royal Mail said there will be no loss in jobs at the local office.

A MOVE to reduce delivery services to a Suffolk town has been described as "a further blow to the rural business community".

Saxmundham's postal customers are to receive their mail once a day from the beginning of next month, but Royal Mail said there will be no loss in jobs at the local office.

Royal Mail is introducing the changes to the IP17 postcode area from Monday, November 3, as part of a national move introducing single, daily deliveries.

First and second deliveries will be amalgamated into a single, daily delivery.

So far, Southwold is the only other town in Suffolk and North Essex to have been affected by the change. Their single daily service in the IP18 postcode area came into force on October 13.

Jonathan Duggan, chairman of the Saxmundham and District Business Association, said: "It is very disappointing there won't be a second delivery. It's a further blow to the rural business community."

Saxmundham town council chairman Marian Andrews felt the change might make a difference to local businesses, although she did not feel it would to residents.

David Busby, the owner of Kudos Services, a business services company in Saxmundham, said the important point for them was that first class post would provide a reliable next day delivery.

He said: "From our point of view the more important thing is mail that does arrive. Providing it arrives on the day we think it's going to arrive, it's 99% of the battle."

Royal Mail said the new system was being rolled out over the next few weeks and details about the areas affected would be released to the media in due course.

The firm said customers in Saxmundham will receive all their post for the day in a single delivery "by around lunchtime at the latest". There should not be any change in the time businesses receive their mail.

Most mail will be delivered well before lunch-time, with deliveries starting from 7am, and for some customers will be little or no change to their current delivery times.

Customers who want their mail early in the day will be able to collect it from the delivery office from 9am on request as part of a new, free service, but they will need to apply in advance.

The company says delivery arrangements for business customers will remain unchanged.

"Second deliveries account for 20% of Royal Mail's costs but represent just 4% of the daily mailbag. So it makes sense to combine first and second deliveries. The changes will help safeguard Royal mail's six day a week universal service to all 27 million addresses in the UK," said a Royal Mail spokesman.

*Application forms allowing customers to collect their mail early are available at the delivery office at 48 High Street, Saxmundham, IP17 1AA.