Petition launched to reopen 2 closed Southampton banks

A local politician is calling for a bank to reverse its decision to axe two of its Southampton branches. Royston Smith, MP for Southampton Itchen, has launched a petition which he will take to Parliament urging Lloyds to make a u-turn on closing its Victoria Road, Woolston branch.

And he also criticised the bank for closing another branch - on London Road in March. So far, Mr Smith has gathered 1,100 signatures from locals who have written to him asking for the Woolston branch to remain.

He said: "Realistically banking is changing but people still need their local bank to work with. It's made worse because it's the tax payers who were the ones who bailed the banks out but it's ultimately them who will suffer.

"Even if the reason is more people are going online, it's common courtesy for customers to be listened to and just think about the decision before going ahead and cutting it."

In December, Lloyds announced it would be closing the Woolston branch in March, and in January said it would also close the Bevois bank.

It means hundreds of customers from the east side of the city will have just one bank left, which is in Bitterne.

Mr Smith said he tried to contact Lloyd's chief executive but had not received a personal reply. He added: "The number of people we have who have signed this petition is significant and it matters a great deal to them. But I have written to chief executive on behalf of my constituents, as you would expect your MP to do, and just got a generic reply."

"It's good manners to get a response because we are still living in austerity because of the pressure these banks put on the public due to the financial crisis."

Lloyds said 72 per cent of its customers in Woolston already use other branches and alternative banking methods, including online and over the phone.

It said of its London Road branch that figure was 81 per cent and that customers could use the post office and other ATMs to carry out banking requirements.

However, Mr Smith believes it's a "cheek" to expect other businesses to carry out their services. A Lloyds spokesperson said: "We have made the difficult decision to close the branch in Avenue, Southampton in March this year. This is due to the changing ways our customers choose to bank with us, which has resulted in the branch being used less."

"We apologise for any inconvenience that this may cause and have informed customers of the closest alternative branch, which is the nearby branch on Above Bar Street."