Guernsey letter prices to be frozen

Mr Smillie said the freeze was part of plans to save £3m

The price of sending a letter within the Bailiwick to Guernsey and from the islands to the UK will stay fixed for at least the next 15 months.

The decision was part of a three-year price control for Guernsey Post, which will come into effect from 1 April.

The cost of a local letter will remain 36p and 45p for those sent to the UK, while certain bulk mail prices will also remain the same.

The Office of Utility Regulation (OUR) agreed the price controls.

Boley Smillie, Guernsey Post chief executive said: "We have committed to making cost savings of £3m over the next three years and these have been reinvested in the form of price reductions."

He said there maybe a knock-on effect caused by the Royal Mail's announcement of a price rise of a UK first class stamp from April, but the extent and timing of these was not yet clear.

Mr Smillie said: "We are currently negotiating with Royal Mail to reduce the potential impact that their price increases may have on Bailiwick customers.

"We have agreed with the [regulator] that we should proceed with our proposed tariff changes to allow our customers to take advantage of the new tariffs and revisit these later in the year once we know what the new Royal Mail prices are."