Community feels ‘ignored’ over loss of vital service
A community group in Balfron claims Bank of Scotland chiefs have“utterly ignored”the views of the community as they prepare to close the village’s only branch.
The future of the beleaguered branch has been uncertain for months after the bank initially announced it was set to close on August 17 as part of 15 closures around the country.
However, the initial announcement in January was met with anger from community leaders and politicians, with a petition calling for the decision to be reconsidered gathering thousands of signatures.
The unforeseen circumstances of the coronavirus pandemic gave the Balfron branch a temporary stay of execution.
But the fight has been reignited once again following the Observer’s revelation last week that a new closure date of March 8 had been agreed by the bank.
Balfron Community Council chairman Colin Cameron, has written to the bank’s executive complaints division, claiming that locals’ “considerable disquiet”over the move had been“dismissed”.
Mr Cameron said:“balfron Community Council received no advance warning of this announcement despite constant attempts to communicate with the Bank of Scotland.
“The chair of the Community Council has written to them again asking that they honour their promise of a meeting prior to any decision to close.
He added:“they have utterly failed to meet the obligations placed on them by the Access to Banking Standard with this woeful lack of engagement.
“Once again the Bank’s‘by Your Side’ advert is revealed as the glib and meaningless slogan it is, and the concerns of the community utterly ignored.”
That anger was backed up by Forth and Endrick councillor Rob Davies, who said the closure would be a“big blow” to the village and the surrounding area.
Mr Davies said:“the closure will be a big blow to this ward and is further evidence of the problems that rural depopulation is creating. The authorities need to do everything possible to encourage growth outside the cities so that closures such as this do not happen elsewhere.”
In a response to the Observer announcing the closure, a Bank of Scotland spokesman said the decision to close the Balfron branch was made due to“a decline in use over time” which had resulted in the branch being used less often.
They said Balfron residents would be able to use the mobile branch services due to be in place ahead of the closures.