Town in protest over bank closure

Banking giant HSBC is being urged not to close a branch that provides a vital service to people in an East Riding town.

The HSBC is the only bank in Snaith and its closure on August 26 will mean people having to go on a round trip of at least 16 miles to the nearest branch at Goole.

A protest has been organised for 11am today.

Resident Mary Robinson, who has lived in Snaith for nearly six decades, queried why the “world’s local bank” was closing another local branch.

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She said: “There’s over 20 shops and other businesses in Snaith who use it. There are also a lot of pensioners who use it, as well as the tradespeople and the farmers. I’ve written to the Doncaster and Leeds branches and when I asked about them being a local bank, they said they didn’t mean it the way I took it and it was because they have branches in 80 countries.

“Snaith is very central and there are people from Pollington, Balne, Gowdall and Hensall and possibly Carlton over the river and the two Cowicks who use it. They are saying everything is online, but you can’t get cash out of a computer.”

In a statement the bank said the number of customers had fallen significantly in recent years and was now one of the most under-used branches in the country. It said it was trying to find a suitable location for the outside cash machine (ATM).

It added: “We have given customers more notice than usual regarding the closure of the branch so that we can try and find an alternative location for the cash machine. We are now working with the local residents to try and find a suitable location for the ATM.

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“The two members of staff who man the branch will transfer to other local branches.”

There were protests last year after an HSBC cash machine which had been torn from the wall in a bungled raid in North Cave was removed. The bank said it had not been replaced because of the increased risk of another raid.