Barra bank branch saved after review
Two of 10 Royal Bank of Scotland branches threatened with closure have been saved following a review.
Castlebay in Barra and Biggar in South Lanarkshire will remain open, but branches in Inveraray, Kyle, Comrie, Beauly, Douglas, Gretna, Tongue and Melrose are to be shut on or around January 11, 2019.
The Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) said: ‘Branch closures are always difficult and that is especially true in some smaller communities.
‘We had a lot of feedback around 10 branches in particular, mainly those that were the last bank in a town and more than nine miles from the next nearest Royal Bank branch.
‘The bank commissioned Johnston Carmichael to review our decisions – and make a clear recommendation one way or the other about keeping them open or closing them.
‘In their judgement, they have recommended that we keep open two of the 10 branches – Biggar and Barra. We accept this recommendation and these branches are no longer scheduled for closure. The remaining eight branches will be closed as planned.’
Barra MP Angus Brendan MacNeil said: ‘This is indeed very good news for the Isle of Barra and a victory for common sense.
‘I am pleased that the Johnston Carmichael review agreed that there are exceptional circumstances in Barra which means that this branch should remain open and that the RBS has accepted this recommendation.
‘I am delighted for RBS customers and the staff in Barra who provide such a valuable service. A cloud has been lifted from the island economy and now visitors and locals will keep proper bank services on Barra.’
Na h-Eileanan an Iar MSP Alasdair Allan added: ‘This is a fantastic victory for the people of Barra. The proposal to shut the only bank on the island, leaving the nearest bank a ferry journey away, was always ill-thought-out, and provoked a reaction in the community and in parliament.
‘RBS would not have been forced into reversing its decision were it not for local campaigners very successfully highlighting the obvious injustice of what was being proposed.
‘The fact that 12,000 people – 10 times the population of Barra – signed a petition demanding that RBS keep the branch open underlines this point.
‘People and businesses in Barra now have local banking services secured for the immediate future. However, it has taken us more than nine months and a huge amount of negative publicity for RBS to finally see sense on this issue.
‘It will have a hard time convincing people it has the islands’ best interests at heart.
‘We need to remain vigilant if we are to protect banking services across the islands.’
The Unite trade union’s regional officer Lyn Turner said: ‘The Johnston Carmichael review was entirely predictable and nothing but a rubber-stamp of RBS management decisions.
‘Sixty communities out of an original 62 earmarked for closure will now be marginalised by this so-called review.
‘Unite will now request to meet RBS urgently to discuss the impact from this announcement on our members.’