FROME’S branch of Barclays Bank is the latest to announce it is closing, making it one of three banks now leaving the town in less than six months.
The axe has fallen on the Stony Street branch in the latest round of closures by Barclays. Frome’s NatWest branch closed on 11th May, HSBC is closing on 6th June and Barclays will be closing in the next three months.
The banks say the closures are due to a decrease in people using the branches and the rise of telephone and internet banking. Residents and business are left without face-to-face banking support, and concern has been expressed about the increase of empty buildings in the town centre.
A Frome resident said, “Personally, I very rarely go into a bank but I know that as I get older, I will need to use a bank branch more and more and I just think it’s a shame that older people aren’t being considered.
“What about having a banking hub in Frome, a hub that all the banks share, but at least there is one place so that older people who can’t do online banking, can actually access their money?
“For the business community, small businesses are all going to struggle to get loans and if they haven’t got a bank manager who they can go and speak to, then it may be more difficult for them to access their funds.”
Empty buildings
With the closure of three banks, there are more empty buildings in the town centre. One resident said, “It’s a shame because there are a lot of empty buildings. There’s one just around the corner from here that’s been empty for years now. It looks awful and it gives a bad impression. I did used to use the banks, I used to go in to get lots of advice, so getting the information online is not quite as easy as a face-to-face conversation.”
On Frome FM’s All About Frome show in March, presenter Rupert Kirkham discussed the issue, with former leader of the council cllr Anita Collier and cllr Jean Boulton about the ‘Bank of Frome’ project that could see a ‘community banking hub’ for Frome.
Worried
Cllr Anita Collier said, “I am really worried for people in Frome. It’s not just the businesses who are really going to suffer with this. Potentially it could be really difficult for people who are disadvantaged or vulnerable in some way, who just rely on that face-to-face contact with banks.
“As a council, we are very disappointed the banks have chosen to do this. We understand, of course, that banks are being used less and less and there is much more online banking now, so I get there has to be an economic grinding for it all, a reasoning and I think there should be a way forward where we could perhaps talk to the banks to work closely with the post offices and create a hub that would enable people to pop in and out and utilise their facility for getting cash. It is those other services, other than those that the post offices can provide. It’s the guidance that’s missing.”
When the three banks have all closed, the only bank left in Frome will be TSB on Cheap Street although there are several building societies still with branches.
