Residents of Leintwardine are up in arms over the decision to close its only bank on September 20.
The branch opens for four hours a week on Tuesdays. The Rev Mike Catling, Rector of the parish of Wigmore Abbey, said: “Without consultation with account holders or the wider community the HSBC is to close its branch here in the village in September.
“The community will lose not only its branch but the ATM machine that services many of the 3000 population of Leintwardine as well as residents from Wigmore. A number of local organisations, including the school and the church, also bank with the local branch. Without access to the branch, people must travel to Ludlow or Leominster.”
Mr Catling chaired a meeting on Tuesday night to discuss the closure, he said representatives from the parish council, the school, and the church expressed their anger and concern that HSBC have made the decision without reference to anyone in the community.
He said it made no sense to close the branch, especially as Leintwardine has been earmarked for new housing developments. “Leintwardine, as part of Hereford Council’s future planning could become a ‘service centre’, which could mean the building of up to 100 new properties increasing the need for local facilities, including banking.”
The meeting agreed to contact Stephen Green, chairman of HSBC.
Mark Hemingway, from HSBC, said: “We apologise for the impact of the closure but usage has been going down and down with on average only six customers per hour. Letters were sent to customers who use the branch, at the end of last week and the beginning of this week.”
Mr Hemingway blamed changing banking habits for the closure. “We realise that for some people it will have a big impact, but there is a big shift away from physical branch contact towards internet and the phone.”
No jobs will be lost when the branch closes. Mr Hemingway said no decision had been made about whether the cashpoint would stay.