FOUR high street banks are to shut 97 branches next month in another blow to Britain’s high streets.
The closures from Natwest, Halifax, Lloyds Bank, and Bank of Scotland follow the cull of hundreds of branches nationwide already this year.
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Starting at the beginning of next month, 27 Halifax branches, 23 NatWest branches, and 32 Lloyds branches will close for good.
The high street banking giants will also close a number of mobile banking services across the country.
And in Scotland, 15 branches for Bank of Scotland will be axed, as well as 17 mobile banking sites.
Between them, Natwest, Lloyds, Halifax and Bank of Scotland will close a total of 97 bank branches and 45 mobile banking services.
Banks and building societies have closed a whopping 6,443 branches since January 2015 equating to 53 closures every month, according to to consumer champion Which?
This works out to an average of around 53 branches per month since January 2015.
Halifax is to close branches in major locations including Blackpool, Hove, and London Wandsworth.
NatWest will also shut branches in Leicester, Stratford upon Avon, Chippenham, Dorchester and Ringwood, as well as other locations across the country.
Lloyds Banking Group, which owns Lloyds, Halifax and Bank of Scotland, said the shift to digital banking is the reason for mass closures.
A spokesperson for Lloyds Banking Group said: “The way people are banking has changed, with over 21million customers choosing our apps to manage their money.
“We’re providing more choice than ever before, bringing together the best in digital convenience with our people.”
Here’s a full list of the closures:
Halifax
- Bexleyheath
- Blackpool Lytham Road
- Buxton – Spring Gardens
- Camborne
- Carmarthen
- Crewe
- Deal
- Derby East St
- Eltham
- Folkestone
- Hastings
- Havant
- Hayes
- Hove
- Kingswood
- London – Wandsworth
- Manchester – Stretford
- Middleton
- Mold
- Seaford
- Sittingbourne
- Skipton
- Southport
- Stevenage Queensway
- Telford
- Woolwich
- Yeovil
Natwest
- Bridgwater
- Bridport
- Chippenham
- Dorchester
- Gillingham (Dorset)
- Honiton
- Kettering
- Leicester
- Leighton Buzzard
- Liverpool Customer Telephony Centre
- Lowestoft
- Midsomer Norton
- Mold
- Neath
- Paignton
- Redditch
- Ringwood
- Romsey Hants
- Royal Leamington Spa
- Stevenage Queensway
- Stratford upon Avon
- Trowbridge
- Wellingborough
NatWest mobile branches:
- Adrian Hill Fine Arts, Lees Yard, Holt
- Bowling Pavillions, Helston
- Council Car Park Culver Road, Saltash
- Fairfield Car Park, Cockermouth
- Field Lane Car Park, Belper
- Hailsham Market, Market Street, Hailsham
- Ham East Car Park, Sidmouth
- Hillsboro Place North Car Park, Porthcawl
- Lidl Commercial Street, Risca
- Market Place, Shirebrook
- Market Street, Ulverston
- Mayor’s Avenue Car Park, Dartmouth
- Middle Street Car Park, Brixham
- Morrisons Car Park, Bodmin
- New Cut Car Park, Redruth
- North Street Car Park, Wellington
- Sainbury’s Car Park, Bude
- Shaftesbury Theatre, Dawlish
- Shawcroft Car Park, Ashbourne
- Tecco Car Park, Linwood Road, Market Rasen
- Teignmouth Library, Teignmouth
- Tesco Car Park, Axminster
- The Griffin Inn Car Park, Newquay
- The Old Mill, Market Lane, Barton-on-Humber
- The Star Inn, Stafford Street, Stone
- The White Horse Hotel Car Park, Haslemere
- Town Square, Downham Market
- Treorchy RFC, 126 High Street, Treorchy
Lloyds Bank
- Alfreton
- Ammanford
- Bideford
- Birmingham – Harborne
- Bury
- Camborne
- Chepstow
- Chester-le-Street
- Deal
- Fleet
- Gillingham (Dorset)
- Gorseinon
- Havant
- Hedge End
- Hedon
- Ivybridge
- Kidderminster
- Lewes
- Mitcham
- New Addington
- Okehampton
- Penzance
- Petersfield
- Ryde
- Southall
- Stamford
- Stoke-on-Trent
- Swadlincote
- Tooting
- Totnes
- Totton
- Walthamstow
Bank of Scotland
- Bellshill
- Castle Douglas
- Dingwall
- Edinburgh Corstorphine West
- Erskine – Bridgewater
- Gairloch
- Glasgow – Anniesland
- Grangemouth
- Hawick
- Home Street, Edinburgh
- Largs
- Larkhall
- Nairn
- Pitlochry
- St Andrews
- Tain
Bank of Scotland mobile branches
- Bleachingfield Community Centre, Dunbar
- Bridge Street Car Park (opposite Morrisons), Cowdenbeath
- Bus Station Car Park, Jedburgh
- Co-op Superstore, Carnoustie
- Co-op, Trinity Road, Brechin
- Crown Inn Wynd Car Park, Auchterarder
- Day Centre Car Park, Riverside Road, Newton Stewart
- Flushes Car Park, Girvan
- Glaisnock Street Car Park, Glaisnock Street, Cumnock
- Kilwinning Library, St. Winnings Lane, Kilwinning
- Leadenflower Car Park, Crieff
- Links Car Park, Burntisland
- Market Muir Car Park, Huntly
- Next to Bowling Green St Marys Street, Kirkcudbright
- Old Market Place, Banff
- Orchard Road, Forres
- Riverside Car Park, Wick
Customers being forgotten
Customers are being forgotten, writes The Sun’s Head of Consumer, Tara Evans.
With branches closing and online banking taking over, customers can be left feeling cut off.
We wrote about forgotten customers back in July on our Sun Money pages in our weekly newspaper section.
People like David Elkins, 82, a retired service engineer from Calne, Wilts, who saw his HSBC branch close in 2023 and had to travel ten miles to the next nearest.
He has a kidney issue and needs frequent dialysis, making it impractical.
Banking hubs are emerging as a solution to address the gaps left by widespread closures – but there are not enough of them.
There are plans for 146 of these, but so far there are only 60.
You can use one of the Post Office’s 11,635 branches to perform basic banking tasks, but they don’t allow you to open or close accounts for example.
What to do if your local bank is set to close
If your local branch is shutting up shop, there are ways you can access banking services without having to venture to another town.
You can use one of the Post Office’s 11,684 branches for basic banking services – although you won’t be able to open new bank accounts or take out personal loans or mortgages.
You can find your nearest Post Office branch by visiting postoffice.co.uk/branch-finder.
Many banks also offer a mobile banking services – portable branches where you can access services like cash deposits, withdrawals and bill payments.
These mobile units visit designated locations up to five days a week, except on Christmas Day and Bank Holidays.
Some banks use buildings such as village halls or libraries to offer mobile banking services.
