Residents fear bank closures will be bad for town
BBCThe closure of a town's last banks "doesn't bode well for the future", a resident has warned.
Halifax shut its branch in Huyton Village, Merseyside, last week and now Lloyds Bank has also closed up for the last time.
Patricia Mason said it was "bad" for the likes of her 86-year-old dad, who does not drive and would now be forced to travel further to sort his finances.
Knowsley Council's leader has again called on LINK, which works to make sure people can easily access cash facilities, to open a banking hub in Huyton Village. LINK said residents and businesses in the town could continue to withdraw and deposit cash at three Post Offices within a mile and also use a number of free-to-use ATMs.
Resident Elizabeth Hawkens said the closures would not just have an impact on her but also the town as a whole.
"It's going to affect me because I don't like going to cash points outside, because I'm elderly and you are told not to do that.
"People like convenience," she said, adding residents would not want to travel further afield to do their banking.
She said the closure was "really sad", adding that she had given chocolates and a card to staff members she knew personally.
"I've been going there a long time," she said. "They are like friends."
Patricia Mason said her father preferred to go into a bank rather than cash machines.
"He's the type of person that will only get money out inside of the bank and not use the machines," she said. "So it's going to be hard for the older generation, I think."
She said the only indoor cash machine would be at the Asda supermarket, which is a five-minute walk from the town centre.
"I think it will be quite bad, because you will have to travel to other areas.
"And if you don't drive, it's public transport."
She added: "It doesn't bode well for the future of the village. I think it's going downhill anyway to be honest."
Kai Andersen, from Save Our Bank Branches Huyton, said it was a "despicable branch closure programme" and claimed residents were not given enough notice.
He told BBC Radio Merseyside the Post Office closes at 12:30 on Saturdays and they only have two members of staff "so people had to trample further away to get cash machines and there were queues for those cash machines out in the cold".
Andersen said: "Clearly it's not good enough.
"Not everyone can walk everywhere.
"I'm not the best on my feet, as I've got a walking stick," he said, adding that he did not want to have to cross a bus lane to get to cash machines.
He also said the bank closures could drive spending out of the town "as people tend to want to spend the cash where they are".
Labour councillor Graham Morgan said the town had 85 business and therefore met the criteria to have a banking hub.
He described LINK's decision as "totally unacceptable".
"I'm absolutely disgusted in the way LINK have conducted themselves over this," he said, adding that he hoped it would "see sense".
"We've even offered them a building where the organisations can move in and the people of Huyton can access that banking hub exactly the same [as] what we've done in Prescot.
"It's working really well and we're doing the same facility next year in Kirkby, so why not Huyton?"
A LINK representative said: "LINK assesses local access to cash whenever a high street bank closes and recommends new services where there is a gap in provision.
"In Huyton, residents and businesses can continue to withdraw and deposit cash at three Post Offices within a mile, as well as use several free-to-use ATMs.
"The banking hub in Prescot is around 11 minutes away by bus, and is served by community bankers alongside cash services at the counter."
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