Welwyn Hatfield Council
From daily envelope stuffing to planning letters sent in minutes
Welwyn Hatfield Council’s Planning Department has a legal requirement to notify neighbours when planning applications are submitted. Before Postworks, Catherine Gooding-Williams and her team spent at least an hour every day printing, folding and stuffing letters, with extra delays whenever the office printer or enveloping machine broke down.
When COVID-19 forced the team to work remotely, the old process was no longer possible. With Postworks, the council was up and running within 24 hours and able to send planning letters in minutes, giving the team a faster, simpler and more reliable way to meet its legal obligations.
The Challenge
Daily planning letters were taking up valuable team time
Catherine and her team work in the Planning Department at Welwyn Hatfield Council. They have a legal requirement to send letters notifying neighbours of planning applications, with penalties if those letters are not sent. If everything went smoothly, sending the letters took a minimum of an hour every day. But things did not always run smoothly.
The team printed letters on the office printer, which was under constant strain and regularly needed engineers to come and fix the latest problem. When the printer worked, the team still had to fold and stuff the letters. If they were lucky, they could use an enveloping machine, but that often went wrong too.
Then COVID-19 happened. Like many teams, the Planning Department suddenly had to work remotely. Catherine needed to find a solution quickly, because the legal requirement to send planning letters had not gone away.
A closer look at the results
Fully set up within
24 hours
Welwyn Hatfield Council was fully set up with Postworks within a day.
Proof of postage when needed
Postworks reporting shows what’s been posted and provides proof.
First letter sent within 2 minutes
The team could send its first letter almost immediately after registering.
The Turning Point
Finding a simple way to send planning letters remotely
Catherine was first pointed towards another hybrid mail company, but when she logged onto its website, it felt complicated and difficult to use. She needed something that would solve the team’s paper and printing problems without creating a new headache.
That is when she found Postworks. There was no software install needed, and the team could start sending letters straight away.
Catherine could not believe how easy Postworks was to use. The council was fully up and running within 24 hours of signing up, and the team was able to send its first letter within two minutes of registering.The Planning Team no longer had to spend hours stuffing envelopes or wait for engineers to fix the printer. Instead, they could simply drag and drop their letters into Postworks. In a matter of minutes, the post was done for the day.
“Give it a try, once you have tried it you will see that it just works.”
Catherine Gooding-WilliamsPlanning Systems Manager, Welwyn Hatfield Borough Council
The Outcome
Planning post became faster, simpler and easier to evidence
With Postworks in place, Catherine and her team have won back time and found a more efficient way to manage essential planning post.
Key Results
⏱️ Time won back every day
The team no longer spends large chunks of the day printing and stuffing envelopes.
📊 Clear reporting and proof of postage
Catherine can generate reports showing exactly what has been posted.
🖱️ Simple drag-and-drop sending
Planning letters can be sent online in minutes, with no software install needed.
🙂 A lasting solution for the team
The Planning Team asked to keep using Postworks even after returning to the office.
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