Axe to fall on town’s Royal Bank of Scotland branch as part of national closures

ASHBOURNE’S branch of the Royal Bank of Scotland is one of 54 that will be closing across the country.

Bosses have cited several reasons for the latest raft of closures, which will lead to 258 redundancies, including an increase in the number of people switching to online banking.

RBS has reported around 53% more customers have chosen to bank on the internet, instead of visiting a branch.

Many of the closures, of which there are seven in Derbyshire, have been put down to having branches too close to each other. Bosses say they are seeking to decrease the “overlap”.

The bank has also put the closures down to no longer launching Williams & Glyn as a challenger bank, as well as having branches too close to each other and therefore seeking to decrease overlap.

The European Union had originally demanded the sale of some branches as a condition of the taxpayer bailout around 10 years ago. RBS resurrected the Williams & Glyn name for the branches it put up for sale – which were RBS banks in England and Wales together with Natwest branches in Scotland. A company spokesman said: “As we are no longer launching Williams & Glyn as a challenger bank we now have two branch networks operating in close proximity to each other in England and Wales – Natwest and Royal Bank of Scotland.

“As a result we have reviewed our overall branch footprint in England and Wales and have made the difficult decision to close 54 Royal Bank of Scotland branches.

“Customers of Royal Bank of Scotland in England and Wales will be able to use Natwest branches and local post offices for their everyday banking needs.

“We will now focus on investing in our Royal Bank network in England and Wales to make sure customers have a consistent range of products and services wherever they bank, be it Scotland, England or Wales.”

Shortly after news of the closures broke, the Unite trade union criticised the move.

In a statement the union said: “It is utterly disgusting that Royal Bank of Scotland has the audacity to announce that yet more important local bank branches will permanently close their doors.”

Ashbourne’s branch, in a prominent corner position in Dig Street, will be closing alongside branches in Belper, Matlock and Buxton. Other Derbyshire branches facing closure include Chapel-en-le-frith, Dronfield and Hathersage.

Three months ago RBS announced closures which affected several branches in the area including Uttoxeter, Burton, Allestree and Long Eaton.

Money raised during last year’s Dovedale Dash has been passed on to the event’s chosen charities. The event, which attracted more than 1,500 runners, raised £5,000 and the proceeds will go to support the upkeep of Thorpe Village Hall. Organisers also asked villagers to nominate charities for a donation and they chose Staffordshire Air Ambulance, East Midlands Air Ambulance, CHICKS, Ilam School, Fenny Bentley School, Access Derbyshire, Careline, Mind and Scopes4sen. Pictured are members of the Dovedale Dash committee presenting a share of the cash to CHICKS, a children’s respite centre in Fenny Bentley. This year’s Dash takes place on Sunday, November 4.

The Royal Bank of Scotland’s Ashbourne branch in Dig Street