Disappointment as branch closure will leave town without a bank

A YORKSHIRE seaside town will be left without a traditional bank building, after plans to close its last remaining branch were announced.

Barclays yesterday revealed its intentions to close the Murray Street branch in Filey by December, as banks increasingly shift emphasis towards online services.

It means residents will now face a 16-mile round trip to access their next-closest branch, in Scarborough.

Barclays blamed the decision on a fall in transactions at the Filey site, where it said 115 people currently use exclusively for their banking.

A number of everyday transactions such as paying in cheques or depositing cash, typically carried out over branch counters, will instead be done at the Post Office at the town’s Evron Centre in John Street.

But Thirsk and Malton MP Kevin Hollinrake said he was disappointed.

He pledged to speak to banking bosses in a bid to persuade them to keep the branch open.

He said: “This decision by Barclays leaves many constituents without ready access to banking services locally.

Filey, and the Thirsk and Malton constituency as a whole, contains an ageing population, many of whom do not drive, struggle with access to public transport and do not have access to the internet.”

Barclays said the number of transactions has fallen over the last two years at the branch, and that 50 per cent of its customers have used neighbouring branches over the past 12 months.

The Murray Street will officially close on December 7.