NatWest bank to close Concourse branch
NATWEST has announced that it is closing its Skelmersdale branch in May 2018.
The bank confirmed that it would close 197 branches, including the one in the Concourse shopping centre.
The company said that transactions at the branch have dropped by 39% over the past five years and it is now used by only 97 customers each week.
The announcement comes just a month after the NatWest in Formby village was permanently closed.
Customers will now have to travel around five miles to reach their nearest branches in Ormskirk or Wigan, though some services will be available at the Post Office.
West Lancashire MP Rosie Cooper hit out at the decision and called on the council’s leadership to do more stop businesses leaving the area.
She added: “This is dreadful and very disappointing news for Skelmersdale residents and for the staff at the branch whose future may be unclear at this point.
“NatWest have pointed to declining numbers using the branch and say that is a key reason for choosing to close the Skelmersdale branch.
“What is so deeply disappointing is that this is another town centre business which is shutting its doors, at a time when we are trying to push ahead with getting the new town centre built. The new town centre would bring increased footfall into the area and we might have seen a different outcome with NatWest.
A NatWest spokeswoman said that it now offered more ways than ever for customers to bank, including online, video and and phone banking.
The firm added that 63% of its customers now asked used digital banking services.
She said: “We are communicating with our customers affected by the closure and proactively contacting vulnerable customers and regular branch users.”
She added: “We know that not all of our customers are comfortable or familiar with using online or mobile banking, so we have created a new specialist taskforce of NatWest TechXperts who will be dedicated to supporting our customers with training and support with digital skills until the branch closes.”