Eyesore pillar boxes are to get a new lick of paint after mail chiefs were urged not to undermine a restoration of Union Street.
A £1million-plus clean-up has been launched by Aberdeen City Council in a bid to return the Granite Mile to its former glory.
However, the authority’s plans hit a snag when it emerged Royal Mail was not scheduled to revamp the six boxes until later next year.
Frustrated local authority officers are believed to have offered to do the job themselves if they were supplied with the right paint.
But, after being contacted by the Press and Journal, Royal Mail has now promised to get them spruced up within just six weeks.
Many of the boxes appear dirty and rusted and most have a number of stickers plastered on them.
Royal Mail is in the fourth year of a five-year programme to paint all 115,000 post boxes in the UK – with Aberdeen near the end of the list.
Initially, the company insisted that the timetable could not be changed, but has now agreed to accelerate the Union Street work.
A spokeswoman said: “The six postboxes on Union Street will be repainted by the end of October.
“We anticipate painting circa 31,000 boxes by the end of our current financial year with a similar number to be carried out next year .”
Council finance convenor Willie Young welcomed the decision, saying: “It’s great thatthey are going to repaint the post boxes. They are in need of some loving, tender care.
“This is a positive sign that the master plan is getting through -that they recognise the only way to improve Union Street is by working together.
“Once the work is done, they will help to bring colour back to the city and that can only be a good thing.”
The iconic red colour of British pillar boxes has been standard since 1874 – after people complained green versions were hard to spot.
Exceptions to the rule are rare, though Aberdeen has three painted gold to match the medals won by Tim Baillie, Neil Fachie and Katherine Grainger at the London 2012 Olympics and Paralympics.
