Lloyds Bank in Whickham will shut in September, the latest casualty in the bank's national closures programme.
The news came as Lloyds Banking Group announced 20 more Lloyds and eight more Halifax branches will close across the UK between August and November this year. The nearest Lloyds branch to Whickham after September will be Wesley Court, in Blaydon, or High Street, Gateshead.
The move follows the banking group's closure of 48 branches between January and April this year and the announcement in March that a further 60 branches will close between June and September. Collectively, the three announcements mean customers will lose access to 85 Lloyds Bank branches, 32 Halifax outlets, and 19 Bank of Scotland branches by the end of this year.
Read more: Your options if your local bank is one of those closing its doors this year
Whickham branch, on the town's High Street, lost its counter service in 2018. It has no dedicated staff and is managed from a pool across several branches.
A review of the branch carried out by Lloyds found that customers were using it less often and instead banking via alternative means such as the Post Office or online. Transactions such as paying in and withdrawing money dropped by 74% since 2017, although the fact that there was no counter service available since 2018 will have a large bearing on the figures. Business customers dropped by 88% in the same period, and cashpoint usage by 43%.
The report also found that only 58 customers were using the branch regularly and 81% of customers were already using other branches or phone or online banking.
Peter Maughan, councillor for Whickham, said the closure was a shame for lots of reasons, but he understood why Lloyds had made the decision to close the branch.
"A bank closure sucks the heart out of the community and gives people more reasons not to use the High Street," he said. "I understand that the way people bank today has changed, but branch closures really affect older people like my mother, who is in her 90s and lives in Whickham.
" Gateshead Council was not consulted on the closure at all, which will leave only one bank - Barclays - in Whickham after September. I understand it's a commercial decision by Lloyds but it's a shame and will chip away at the community heart."
Lloyds Banking Group isn't alone in axing branches. TSB is closing 70 branches between April and June this year, HSBC will close 69 branches across the UK between July and October, and NatWest Group said it would shut 32 of its NatWest and RBS branches between May and July this year.
The local branches affected by these closures announced earlier in the year are:
- Lloyds: Ponteland (closed February)
- Natwest: Gosforth (due to close 22 June)
- TSB: Gateshead High Street (closed May)
- HSBC: Bishop Auckland (due to close 23 August)
- Halifax: Consett (closed March)
Lloyds Banking Group said that customers of all branches set to close will have access to everyday banking and cash, such as via a Post Office, within one mile and have internet access available in the community.
But union Unite said 69 workers are affected by the closures nationally and condemned the move as 'inexcusable'
Unite national officer Caren Evans said: “The actions of Lloyds Banking Group over the last few months are completely inexcusable. The management is letting down customers and their dedicated workforce. These closures will leave some customers more than 10 miles from their nearest bank branch. This is a betrayal of some of the most vulnerable, elderly and socially excluded in our communities who need local access to community banking.”
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