Barclays Bank to close in blow to Sutton's high street

Sutton’s Low Street branch of Barclays will close its doors on May 29, forcing customers to travel four miles to the firm’s nearest branch in Mansfield.

The closure leaves residents three banks within the town - Lloyds, NatWest, and Halifax.

Barclays has cited lack of footfall as one reason for the closure, and say that only 115 customers use the branch exclusively for their banking.

A spokesman said: “ The number of transactions has gone down in the previous 24 months, and additionally 84 per cent of our branch customers also use other ways to do their banking such as online and by telephone.

“Customers using other ways to do their banking has increased by 24 per cent since 2012.

“ In the past 12 months, 44% per cent of this branch's customers have been using neighbouring branches, and only 115 customers use this branch exclusively for their banking.”

“Before we make the decision to close any branch, we think carefully about how it has been used so far.

“We consider how many customers have been visiting, what kind of transactions they've been making, and all the other ways they've been choosing to bank with us.

“We also take into consideration the availability of other branches in the wider community.”

Councillor Samantha Deakin said that the closure is ‘bad news’ for Sutton, especially elderly residents who rely on counter services.

She said: “This is really bad news for Sutton Town Centre.

“I know many people, especially the elderly who rely on the counter services services that Barclays currently provide.

“Since they closed their branch in Kirkby, footfall at the branch has dramatically increased. They now face a journey to Alfreton or Mansfield just to access counter services. We have written to Barclays asking them to reconsider. “This setback will not stop us in our ambitious plans to regenerate Sutton Town Centre. We are currently working on bids of up to £50,000,000 to completely revolutionise our Town Centre.”

If you have concerns about the closure, you can email Adrian Davies, Market Director for Local West at [email protected]