Bank closure is latest blow to Perth street

more junkies in the area. I go to the traders meetings and everyone’s saying that most visitors are driving down South Street and it just looks a shambles.

“I don’t think politicians have done nearly enough. No one seems to care.”

Meanwhile, customers were gearing up to lose their branch.

Flora Angus is retired and has been a customer at the bank for over 60 years and insists the nearest branches are too far for her to travel.

She said: “I think it’s terrible they’re closing it down. Now I have to go up to the Dunkeld Road branch which is further away for me.

“I might have to move to another bank with my husband.”

Ian Clarke (48) is a regular customer with RBS.

He said: “It’s pretty rubbish to be honest because we now have to use the Dunkeld Road bank.

“My mum and dad also bank here and they have been use to use to walking here. But now they’ll have to use the Dunkeld Road one and that means using the car as it is a lot further.

“I think they are just trying to push everyone towards the online stuff now.

“It’s a real shame. I prefer the face to face service you get.

“In the Dunkeld Road bank it’s mostly machines and it’s really annoying.

“I can be 10 to 15 minutes waiting just to talk to a cashier on a quiet day. It can irritate people.

“Most of South Road has places closing down because first it was the post office and now this.”

An RBS spokesperson said the motivation behind the closure is due to a drop in visitor numbers.

He said: “Since 2012 we have seen the way in which people use the Perth South Street branch change dramatically, with now 89 per cent of customers already banking in other ways locally.

“Transactions have reduced by 47 per cent since 2012 with now only 120 customers visiting the branch on a weekly basis. The number of customers choosing to bank digitally on a regular basis is at 58 per cent.”