97 Bank Branches to Close in Britain: Which Cities Will Be Affected.

According to The Sun: Four banks will close 97 branches next month, marking another blow to British urban areas.

Branch closures will occur at Natwest, Halifax, Lloyds Bank, and Bank of Scotland, as part of a nationwide trend towards reducing the number of bank branches this year.

Starting next month, 27 Halifax branches, 23 Natwest branches, and 32 Lloyds branches will close.

These large financial institutions will also reduce the number of mobile banking services in various regions.

In Scotland, 15 Bank of Scotland branches are planned to close, along with 17 mobile banking points.

Overall, Natwest, Lloyds, Halifax, and Bank of Scotland will close 97 branches and 45 mobile services.

According to the consumer agency Which?, over 6,443 branches have been closed since January 2015, averaging 53 closures per month.

Halifax will close branches in major cities like Blackpool, Hove, and London Wandsworth.

NatWest will also close its branches in Leicester, Stratford-upon-Avon, Chippenham, Dorchester, and Ringwood.

The Lloyds Banking Group, which encompasses Lloyds, Halifax, and Bank of Scotland, explains the mass closures as a transition to digital banking services.

A representative of the Lloyds Banking Group stated: “The way people conduct banking operations has changed: over 21 million customers choose our apps to manage their finances.”

“We offer more choice by combining the best digital capabilities with our specialists.”

List of Branch Closures:

Halifax

• Wexford
• Blackpool Lifem Road
• Buckston – Spring Gardens
• Camborne
• Carmarthen
• Crew
• Deal
• Derby East St
• Eltham
• Folkestone
• Hastings
• Havant
• Hayes
• Hove
• Kingswood
• London – Wandsworth
• Manchester – Stratford
• Middleton
• Mold
• Seaford
• Sittingbourne
• Skipton
• Southport
• Stevenage Queens Way
• Telford
• Woolwich
• Yeovil

Natwest

• Bridgwater
• Bridport
• Chippenham
• Dorchester
• Gillingham (Dorset)
• Honiton
• Kettering
• Leicester
• Leighton Buzzard
• Liverpool Customer Service Centre
• Lowestoft
• Midsomer Norton
• Mold
• Net, United Kingdom
• Paignton
• Redditch
• Ringwood
• Romsey Hampshire
• Royal Leamington Spa
• Stevenage Queens Way
• Stratford-upon-Avon
• Trowbridge
• Wellingborough

NatWest Mobile Branches:

• Adrian Hill Fine Arts, Lees Yard, Holt
• Bowling Pavilions, Helston
• Council Car Park Culver Road, Saltash
• Fairfield Car Park, Cockermouth
• Field Lane Car Park, Belper
• Hailsham Market, Market Street, Hailsham
• Ham East Car Park, Sidmouth
• Hillsboro Place North Car Park, Porthcawl
• Lidl Commercial Street, Risca
• Market Place, Shirebrook
• Market Street, Ulverston
• Mayor’s Avenue Car Park, Dartmouth
• Middle Street Car Park, Brixham
• Morrisons Car Park, Bodmin
• New Cut Car Park, Redruth
• North Street Car Park, Wellington
• Sainsbury’s Car Park, Bude
• Shaftesbury Theatre, Dawlish
• Shawcroft Car Park, Ashbourne
• Tecco Car Park, Linwood Road, Market Rasen
• Teignmouth Library, Teignmouth
• Tesco Car Park, Axminster
• The Griffin Inn Car Park, Newquay
• The Old Mill, Market Lane, Barton-on-Humber
• The Star Inn, Stafford Street, Stone
• The White Horse Hotel Car Park, Haslemere
• Town Square, Downham Market
• Treorchy RFC, 126 High Street, Treorchy

Lloyds Bank

• Alfreton
• Amanford
• Bideford
• Birmingham – Harborne
• Burry
• Camborne
• Chepstow
• Chester-le-Street
• Deal
• Fleet
• Gillingham (Dorset)
• Gorseinon
• Havant
• Hedge End
• Hedon
• Ivybridge
• Kidderminster
• Levis
• Mitcham
• New Eddington
• Okehampton
• Penseance
• Petersfield
• Ryde
• Southall
• Stamford
• Stoke-on-Trent
• Swadlincote
• Tutbury
• Totnes
• Totton
• Walthamstow

Bank of Scotland

• Bellshill
• Castle Douglas
• Dingwall
• Edinburgh Corstorphine West
• Erskine – Bridgeweger
• Geirlach
• Glasgow – Ennisland
• Grangemouth
• Geivik
• Home Street, Edinburgh
• Largs
• Larkhall
• Nairn
• Pitlochry
• St Andrews
• Tain

Bank of Scotland Mobile Branches

• Bleachingfield Community Centre, Dunbar
• Bridge Street Car Park (opposite Morrisons), Cowdenbeath
• Bus Station Car Park, Jedburgh
• Co-op Superstore, Carnoustie
• Co-op, Trinity Road, Brechin
• Crown Inn Wynd Car Park, Auchterarder
• Day Centre Car Park, Riverside Road, Newton Stewart
• Flushes Car Park, Girvan
• Glaisnock Street Car Park, Glaisnock Street, Cumnock
• Kilwinning Library, St. Winnings Lane, Kilwinning
• Leadenflower Car Park, Crieff
• Links Car Park, Burntisland
• Market Muir Car Park, Huntly
• Next to St Marys Street, Kirkcudbright
• Old Market Place, Banff
• Orchard Road, Forres
• Riverside Car Park, Wick

Forgotten Customers

Customers are left unattended, writes Tara Evans, head of consumer editing at The Sun.

With the closure of branches and the move to online banking, customers may feel cut off.

In July, we examined this issue in the Sun Money section of our weekly newspaper.

For example, David Elkins, an 82-year-old retiree from Calne in Wiltshire, faced the closure of his HSBC branch in 2023 and now has to drive ten miles to the nearest one.

Given his health issues, he finds it difficult to do so, as he needs to undergo dialysis frequently.

Now banking hubs are emerging to fill the gaps left by closures, but there are still not enough of them.

146 such hubs are planned, but only 60 currently exist.

For basic banking tasks, customers can use one of 11,635 post office branches, but cannot open or close accounts there.

What to Do If Your Local Bank Is Closing

If your local branch is closing, there are ways to access banking services without having to travel to another city.

You can use one of 11,684 post office branches for basic banking services, although opening new bank accounts or applying for loans or mortgages is not available there.

To find your nearest post office branch, visit postoffice.co.uk/branch-finder.

Many banks also offer mobile banking services — outreach branches where you can perform tasks such as making deposits, withdrawing cash, or paying bills.

These mobile service vehicles visit specified locations up to five days a week, except Christmas and bank holidays.

Some banks use local buildings, such as village halls or libraries, to provide mobile banking services.