Fury that communities are being 'cut adrift' by cull of more than 5,000 bank ... trends now
Campaigners have warned that towns across the UK are being 'cut adrift' due to the cull of more than 5,000 bank branches since 2015, with some facing travelling 15 miles to use a physical branch.
Dozens of towns across the country have been left without a single bank following the closures, leaving the elderly and vulnerable stranded if they do not use the internet.
The last bank in Fishguard, North Wales, closed in 2018 and residents now have to travel 15 miles each way to find the nearest branch, in Haverfordwest.
In Knaresborough, North Yorkshire, there has not been a bank since 2020, with a promised 'banking hub' failing to materialise. The nearest bank is in Harrogate, nearly four miles away.
The communities have come under the spotlight after news that another 40 banks will be lost from the UK's high streets in the coming months, with LLoyds Banking Group saying 22 Lloyds branches and 18 Halifax sites will close.
The move is yet another hammer blow for Britain's beleaguered high streets, with banks and building societies having closed or planning to close more than 5,000 branches since January 2015, at a rate of 54 each month on average.
Responding to the announcement, Age UK's charity director Caroline Abrahams said elderly customers risk being 'cut adrift' from banking services and banks should be doing 'everything they can' to ensure 'essential' services continue to be provided.
And Tory MP Alexander Stafford branded the move an 'absolute disgrace', saying Lloyds has a 'duty of care' to local communities.
In Knaresborough, North Yorkshire, there has not been a bank since 2020, with a promised 'banking hub' failing to materialise. The nearest bank is in Harrogate, nearly four miles away. Above: What was a Natwest is seen above in Knaresborough in 2017; compared with more recently
In Knaresborough, North Yorkshire, there has not been a bank since 2020, with a promised 'banking hub' failing to materialise. The nearest bank is in Harrogate, nearly four miles away. Above: What was once a Barclays is seen unoccpied above
The last bank in Fishguard was a branch of Barclays. It shut in May 2018. Barclays blamed the rise of online banking and the falling number of customers visiting in-person for the closure.
But local politicians and businesses expressed concerns that the closure did not take into account the needs of the elderly.
Jackie Stokes, a councillor in Fishguard, told MailOnline: 'We have not had any banks for quite a long time.
'We are sort of used to it. It is certainly not good, particularly for older people.'
She said there are 'ways around' the issue, but only if the banks 'work together'.
'Pre-pandemic, one bank did come to Fishguard once a week, it was a mobile bank. It was very good. I think it was Lloyds,' she said.
'The pandemic is over now, so I don't understand why the mobile one has not come back.'
Now, the elderly and anyone else who needs to use a walk-in branch would either have to drive or take a bus to Haverfordwest.
The last bank to shut in Knaresborough was a branch of Halifax, which closed its doors in 2021. A branch of Natwest closed in 2017.
Conservative councillor John Batt told MailOnline that he believes that absence of banks has contributed to the lack of footfall in the town centre.
'Footfall is a lot lighter than it used to be,' he said.
Whilst a so-called banking hub - where major banks offer services on different days of the week - was promised in 2021, it has yet to open.
Mr Batt said: 'We have been promised a banking hub but as yet it has not yet arrived. I'm not sure people are aware they can go to the post office if they need to draw out any money.
In Carnoustie, in Angus, Scotland, the last bank - a TSB outlet (seen above) - shut its doors in April 2021
The last bank in Emsworth, Sussex, closed its doors in the summer of 2017. The departure of the Natwest branch (above) left local business owners furious
'It has not materialised so far. It affects the elderly most of all. They have either got to go to Harrogate or Wetherby do their banking.
'Weatherby has got more facilities than we have but it is eight miles away. It's impossible to get to for an old person. A bus goes there but if you're not mobile it does not help.'
The last bank in Emsworth, Sussex, closed its doors in the summer of 2017. The departure of the Natwest branch left local business owners furious.
Giles Babb, the chairman of the Emsworth Business Association, said at the time that the news was a 'bitter pill to swallow.'
Speaking to local outlet The News, he said: 'It's a bit of a blow having lost the other banks and worked hard with NatWest to keep the area sustainable for businesses.
'There are still a lot of businesses needing services that you can't access online.
'The whole local economy could be affected by this.'
In Carnoustie, in Angus, Scotland, the last bank - a TSB outlet - shut its doors in April 2021.
That closure followed the departures of Bank of Scotland and Royal bank of Scotland.
When the Bank of Scotland branch shut in 2017, councillor Lea McLelland said she was 'absolutely disgusted' by the decision.
'I am worried that this will lead to an increase in banking scams if people can no longer go into a branch to check if a message they received from a bank is genuine,' she told local news outlet The Courier.
The number of people using in-person services at banks has been falling for years as more and more turn to online banking.
This increased during the pandemic as those who relied on bank branches were forced to learn how to bank from home.
But branches are still vital for the vulnerable, elderly and anyone needing face-to-face advice.
The South East has seen the biggest drop in branches since 2015, with 704 having been shuttered before the latest announcement.
Barclays has closed 149 outlets in the region, with 114 Natwest branches and 129 Lloyds outlets also gone - before the further closures by Lloyds announced today.
Scotland was the first part of the UK to see more than half its banks close, according to consumer rights group Which?.
Royal Bank of Scotland has closed 160 branches in Scotland since 2015, and Bank of Scotland has shut 128.
The latest announcement brings the total number of
