The first Royal Mail delivery office to have an all-electric fleet of collection and delivery vehicles has been announced.

The Bristol East Central Delivery Office has had its 23 diesel delivery and collection vans replaced by fully electric equivalents.

Six electric charging posts have also been installed on the site, with electricity for powering the office and charging the vehicles from 100% renewable sources.

This is a really positive step and will help us assess the impact of these changes on both our customers and our people when compared with conventional delivery offices

Royal Mail said Bristol was selected because of the city’s plans for a Clean Air Zone (CAZ), which will require certain vehicles to pay a daily charge to enter its centre.

Other delivery offices are being considered for similar fleet makeovers in the coming months.

The electric vans have a bigger load space than the vehicles they have replaced, giving them additional capacity to deal with growing parcel volumes, and have lower maintenance requirements.

Royal Mail chief executive Simon Thompson said: “It’s clear to me that customers increasingly want less environmentally impacting deliveries.

“We are delighted to transform Bristol East Central into the very first Royal Mail ‘all-electric’ delivery office. This is a really positive step and will help us assess the impact of these changes on both our customers and our people when compared with conventional delivery offices.”

Mayor of Bristol Marvin Rees said: “It’s fantastic news that Royal Mail has chosen Bristol for its first ever all-electric delivery office.

“Their 23 electric vehicles will join Bristol’s 99 bio-gas buses already on our streets in reducing emissions and improving air quality.

“We want to support people and businesses in transitioning our fleet to cleaner and more efficient vehicles.”

Rob Wotherspoon of the Communication Workers Union said: “This is not just about the fight against climate change, but about the air that our communities breathe.”