Cost of sending mail on Isle of Man to rise by 10%

Sending a letter to an Isle of Man or UK address will rise to 80p from 9 January

The cost of sending mail on the Isle of Man will go up by about 10% in January, the island's post office has announced.

Isle of Man Post Office said sending a standard letter on the island or to the UK will rise by 7p to 80p on 9 January.

Posting large letters and packets will also rise by 10%, with international small parcels up by more than 12%.

A spokeswoman for the post office said the yearly rise, which happens in April, had been brought forward due to "escalating operating costs".

Under the changes, the cost of some other services, including PO Boxes, Keepsafe and ReDirect, will also be subject to a 10% increase.

The cost of posting large letters and parcels will also rise by 10%

The new tariffs follow a 6p rise in the cost of sending a letter in April, which came after 5p increases in the three preceding years.

Post office chairman Stu Peters MHK said the price increases were "regrettably inevitable".

"Upward pressures on operating costs are anticipated well into the following business year," he said.

"In particular, we forecast substantial fuel cost increases and anticipate materially higher costs."

Although living on the Isle of Man had "many advantages", it brought with it additional conveyance costs, which the businesses could not "afford to absorb entirely", he said.

He added that the organisation remained "committed to ensuring the quality and sustainability" of its services and the new tariffs would help it to achieve that.