It is a sad fact that the number of high street bank branches in local communities is diminishing. In East Hampshire, some have closed in recent years, including HSBC in Alton, and Lloyds in Petersfield, whereas others have reduced their hours. From the banks' point of view, these closures are necessary as there just aren't the numbers using them anymore to make the branches commercially viable.
Many of us now bank online or via our telephones and do so confidently. We therefore have little need to visit a physical bank branch. However, for those who choose not to use online or telephone banking or don't have the means to do so, branches remain an important way of managing household tasks, such as paying bills, or seeking advice on more complex financial matters, such as probate and mortgages. They are also important for local businesses.
While I do not have the power to stop banks from closing their branches, I think it's essential that we campaign for decent alternative provision for those customers that need it. This could be maintaining the network of post office 'everyday banking' counters as a minimum and looking to extend the services they can provide to customers to try and fill the gaps left by branch closures.
We also need to look at the community banking hub scheme Cash Access UK - Home - this is a community service, run by Link on behalf of the banks, to determine areas that could benefit from a banking 'hub'. This is particularly relevant to those communities which no longer have a physical banking presence and may have to travel some distance to access a branch.
In 2024 I successfully campaigned for better banking facilities for Whitehill and Bordon. This was the culmination of many months of hard work with Link, supported by EHDC, so it was a real result to get the town its own banking hub. I'm now looking at other parts of East Hampshire to see if there are communities that would benefit from a banking hub. Please complete my survey below and tell me what you think.
