An MP has welcomed news of a shared banking hub coming to Carluke.
The Lanarkshire town was left without a bank when its last remaining one, the Bank of Scotland, closed in June.
It meant locals were left relying on the post office or travelling to Lanark or Motherwell for their nearest bank.
But proper banking services will return to Carluke after it was chosen as one of 13 locations to host a shared banking hub.
The bank hub will not only allow people to get their hands on cash but will also allow small businesses to deposit their takings.
Lanark and Hamilton East MP Angela Crawley is delighted with the news and is keen to see how it will be developed in the local area.
The SNP politician, along with other local representatives fought against the move of Bank of Scotland shutting its Carluke branch.
And the new banking is expected to be in the town in the coming months, proving a lifeline for locals.
Commenting, Ms Crawley told Lanarkshire Live : “This is fantastic news for Carluke and I am eager to see how these plans will progress.
“It was a shame to see the last bank in Clydesdale’s largest town close earlier this year.
"The town should never have been left without proper banking facilities so I am glad to see this will return.”
The hub will become the second banking facility of its kind in Lanarkshire, with one already in place in Cambuslang.
Also pleased to see the banking hub in Carluke is South Scotland MSP Colin Smyth, who is calling for more to be introduced.
He told us : “As a long-standing campaigner for shared hubs, I welcome this announcement but we need to go further, faster.
"Four planned hubs across the whole of Scotland won’t scratch the surface of the bank closure crisis we are facing, which we know is going to get worse.
“It also remains to be seen whether these hubs will ever open. A previous announcement of ten hubs across the UK has so far failed to be delivered.
“Shared hubs are no substitute for a full branch because you can only really speak to your own bank staff once a week, but they are better than no branch at all.
"They mean costs are shared between banks and there is no reason in my view why other services, such as those from councils, couldn’t also be provided, giving communities a one stop shop.
“If we don’t see bank hubs fully rolled out in more rural towns and villages, then the number of communities without a bank will continue to grow and grow.
"This would be terrible news for local businesses and other customers, especially those who don’t use online banking.
“Cash is still vital to many people, not least during the current cost of living crisis where many people are having to budget so carefully just to get by.”
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