Communities rocked by bank closures

The Barclays Bank branches at Bellingham and Alston will both shut up shop before Christmas, as part of a nationwide programme of closures.

The closure of the Bellingham branch  is being viewed with alarm in the North Tyne capital, as the branch operates the only “hole in the wall” cash machine in a 20-mile radius.

While the newly refurbished post office in the village is hoping to install a cash machine, it will be many months before it can be put in place.

There is a branch of Lloyd’s Bank in the village, but it too has recently reduced its opening hours, and villagers fear for its long term future too.

Bellingham county councillor and farmer John Riddle said on Wednesday: “I am very disappointed that we are going to lose one bank, because I don‘t think it will be long before we lose the other one as well.

”I remember as a young boy going to the present Barclays Bank  when it was Martins Bank with my father, every Friday to draw out cash for the workers‘ wages, but most people have their wages paid directly into the bank now, and there’s no need to go to the branch.

“The need for a counter service has reduced over the years.” 

He added he would also miss the branch when it came to paying in business cheques, a procedure which would now involve a 35-mile trip into Hexham and back.

Coun. Riddle went on: “ What really concerns me though is the loss of the cash machine, which is very important for locals and tourists alike so they can have access to cash more or less 24/7.

”I know people can get cashback from the shops, and use the post office facilities, but it‘s not always convenient.”

The Barclays branch in Alston is the only bank left in the remote town, and its closure in December has left residents feeling it will become a ghost town. 

Barclays is Alston's only remaining bank following the closure of the town's HSBC branch in June. Closure will leave the town with one cash point, located outside the town centre, and it is  feared businesses, many of which don‘t have card payment terminals, will suffer as a result.

A social media campaign, Save Alston Moor's Last Bank, has garnered over 400 online supporters and has been encouraging followers to petition Barclays to reconsider the plans for the branch.

Campaigner and Alston Moor Parish council chairman Alix Martin said: "The closure will be devastating for this town. Everyone is really upset. Barclay's is glibly saying it's only 11 miles to the nearest branch in Haltwhistle, but we’ve had our buses stopped, so anyone who hasn't got a car can't get there at all.

"We are being chipped away at from all angles. We are a large community of 2,000 people and, considering how remote we are, don't we deserve to be a special case?

"I would invite those at Barclays to come up here, stay for a lovely weekend and see for themselves the problems we have rather than just treating us as a number on a spread sheet. There are real lives being affected here.

“Barclays have announced a  25 per cent rise in profit; talk about a slap in the face! In the grand scheme of things, it must cost them peanuts to run our branch."

Community Leader for Barclays in Newcastle and Northumberland, Paul Manning,  said: “The way customers undertake their banking is changing as people increasingly use online, telephone and mobile devices. We must therefore evolve the shape and size of our branch network in response to changing customer behaviour.“

At  Bellingham, customer usage has continued to decline and more than half Barclays private customers now regularly use  branches outside the village - and the figure is even higher for business customers.

Mr Manning said: ” This is  why we have taken the difficult decision to close the branch on Friday  December 18.“

He pointed out that Barclays had a reciprocal agreement with the Post Office, where cheques could be paid in, and cash withdrawn. 

At Alston branch, a quarter of customers had their main accounts elsewhere, and the branch would close on December 4.