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Chronicle Live

National

Catherine Furze

Full list of all banks closing in the North East this year - including The Galleries, Washington

Barclays the North East Washington D.C. Sharon Hodgson HSBC Whitley Bay

Barclays has this week announced that 11 more of its branches will close this summer, including the branch in The Galleries shopping centre, in Washington.

The latest closures bring the total of Barclays branches closing to 95 by the end of this year. With the latest closure announcement from Barclays, high street banks have set out plans to shut 228 branches since the start of this year, with 15 in the North East.

Whitley Bay, in North Tyneside, will have lost three banks by the end of the summer, with HSBC closing next Friday, May 2, the town's Halifax branch closing on June 21, followed by NatWest on July 20.

The banking industry has said that fewer people are using their branches and the pandemic accelerated changes, with many customers learning for the first time how to bank from home. However, critics say vulnerable people who are less confident on the internet will be left without access to services.

Sharon Hodgson, MP for Washington and Sunderland West, said she was disappointed that Barclays was closing the branch in her constituency on July 21. "While digital poverty remains an issue for a lot of people, I feel the closure of the branch in The Galleries is the wrong decision by Barclays," she said. "They have proposed alternative services in the community, but I am concerned that Barclays' customers in my constituency will lack the appropriate support for those who do not have access to digital banking, and for our residents who require face-to-face support for more complex issues that require an appointment.

MP Sharon Hodgson says closure in The Galleries is the wrong decision by Barclays (Newcastle Chronicle)

"I look forward to a hopefully productive meeting this week with Barclays representatives to understand their decision and to discuss solutions for my constituents, many of whom have already contacted me, worried about how they will manage, as they rely on this particular branch regularly as the only way to do their banking. I hope that reasonable solutions and support for those affected by the closure will be found."

Since the closure of branches in Chester-le-Street branch in August 2022 and in Houghton in July 2021, the nearest Barclays to Washington is Sunderland’s Fawcett Street branch, which is six miles away.

Barclays said: “As visits to branches continue to fall, we need to adapt to provide the best service for all our customers. Where there is no longer enough demand to support a branch, we maintain an in-person presence though our Barclays Local network, live in over 200 locations, based in libraries, town halls, mobile vans and our new banking pods. We also support access to cash with our cashback without purchase service, 24-hour deposit-taking ATMs and by working alongside the Post Office and Cash Access UK.”

Reaearch by Which? suggests banks and building societies have closed, or have scheduled to close, a total of 5,579 branches since January 2015. This works out at around 54 branches each month.

The full list of banks scheduled for closure this year in the North East are:

Lloyds