Anger after Lloyds announces plans to close Kirkby's 'last bank standing'

Lloyds Banking Group has announced the closure of the Station Street branch on February 7 – as part of 48 branch closures around the country.

It has already closed 56 banks this year and is in the process of shutting a further 44 before the end of November.

The latest closures, which will be completed by April 2022, bring the total to 148 since the beginning of this year.

Of the closures, 41 will be Lloyds branches, with a further seven Halifax outlets set to go.

Now, both Councillor Jason Zadrozny, leader of Ashfield District Council, and MP Lee Anderson are calling for a rethink, and have written to top bankers at the company, describing the impact the closure would have.

Both say the closure would have a devastating impact on many older people and those who don’t use phone or online banking.

Coun Zadrozny, who is himself a customer at the branch, described the move as ‘bank robbery’.

He told your Chad: “This is the last bank we have in Kirkby. This feels like a bank robbery. Like thousands of residents in our town – my family and I have used the bank for generations.

"The Lloyds Banking Group claim it is because significantly fewer customers were visiting the branches like our one in Kirkby.

"I simply don’t recognise this and it’s always packed when I visit. I get that over recent years, many residents’ banking habits have changed. Lloyds in Kirkby, however, retained a loyal customer base and this short-sighted decision will impact the elderly and businesses in our town.

“This decision has been taken without any consultation with their loyal customer base. Not everybody banks online – like the thousands of Kirkby residents impacted – I am very old fashioned and like to go in and talk about my account to the friendly staff. This will all be removed in the name of greed and worry about the potential redundancies this will have.”

The company has said that 178 workers will be affected by the closures, and will be offered voluntary redundancy or a different job within the business.

Also condemning he move, MP Lee Anderson said: “I am very disappointed and concerned by the announcement from Lloyds that they are closing their bank branch in Kirkby.

"This branch serves many of the surrounding villages as well as residents in Kirkby, meaning it will hit many of the communities in my constituency very hard.

"In-person banking services are vital to many in my constituency, so I have written to the banking group and asked them to rethink this decision.”

Of all the proposed closures, the Kirkby branch is one of just two planned for the East Midlands, with another set to be closed in Hinckley, Leicestershire.

Vim Maru, Lloyds Banking Group’s retail director, said: “Like many other businesses, we have seen people using our branches less frequently in recent years, and this decline is continuing.

"Our branches remain a fundamental part of how we serve our customers, but we need to ensure the size of our branch network reflects the number of customers wanting to use them.”

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