Posting parcels to Pontypridd this St David's Day

Drive along a country lane in Wales and it won’t be long until you see the word ‘ARAF’ written in large letters on the road. Luckily, for non-Welsh speakers like me, the English word, ‘SLOW’, is usually displayed too. You are probably aware that many Welsh road signs often feature both the Welsh and English names for the places ahead, but did you know that the two languages also live side-by-side in the Postcode Address File?

We’ve got it sorted

Where alternative ‘Welsh language’ versions of addresses in Wales are available, Royal Mail’s operational systems have been developed so that they can read the address in both Welsh and English and route, sort and sequence the mail in the same way, irrespective of which language is used on the envelope. This allows citizens and organisations to choose which language they want to use when ordering goods and services, safe in the knowledge they will be delivered safely and swiftly.

This means that if you want to write to the County Council in Anglesey, you have two, equally valid address options available to you:

Cyngor Sir Ynys Môn Isle of Anglesey County Council

Swyddfa’r Cyndor Council offices

Llangefni Llangefni

Ynys Môn Anglesey

LL77 7TW LL77 7TW

Gwnewch y pethau bychain - Do the little things

So how can you take advantage of this and address your customers in the way that they want? Royal Mail’s database of UK postal addresses, the Postcode Address File (PAF®), contains details of all the 1.5 million postal addresses in Wales, around three quarters of which have a Welsh language alternative. This file of alternative addresses is available to all organisations that take a supply of PAF from us. As organisations look to create positive ways of differentiating themselves from their competitors doing the little things like identifying whether customers in Wales prefer to use the Welsh or English version of their address and writing to them in this way can make all the difference.

So, if you’re sending marketing mail to Maesteg or an important parcel to Pontypridd, why not address your customer in the language of their choice, Speak to us, your current PAF Solutions Provider or find a supplier that incorporates the Welsh language alternative into their solutions to find out more.

Scott Childes

Data Supply Manager

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