Cleveleys TSB bank shuts permanently and cash machine removed

The bank announced in December that the branch in Victoria Road West was among 70 branches to be axed in 2022.

Yesterday, after serving its last customers, the bank closed its doors and swiftly removed all signs, as well as the cash machine from the wall outside.

Customers who want to bank in person will now have to make a 9-mile round trip to their nearest branch in Birley Street, Blackpool.

It continues the exodus of banks from Cleveleys, with just three branches remaining - the Halifax and Santander outlets, both in Victoria Road West, and the NatWest at Victoria Square.

Last year saw the the closure of the Barclays and HSBC branches, and prior to that, the Royal Bank of Scotland.

For a time Cleveleys was considered one of the last bastions of local branches, with the town frequently signposted by banks as the nearest destination for customers following closures of branches in neighbouring Bispham and Fleetwood.

But now even Cleveleys is losing its banks, as changes in people's financial habits continue to impact on high street branches.

Concerns were raised by Cleveleys MP Paul Maynard last year, however, that the closures will hit older an low income customers, many of whom do not trust online banking and prefer to visit their local branches.

TSB said that 75 per cent of business customers at Cleveleys, and 65 per cent of personal customers, are now using ‘mobile, online or telephone banking’.

Robin Bulloch, the bank’s chief customer officer, said: “Closing branches is an incredibly difficult decision to take, but we have to respond to the changes in the way people bank and provide the right mix of services for all our customers now and into the future.

“These changes allow us to maintain an extensive branch presence across the country.

"They are accompanied by a significant investment programme to upgrade branches to better suit customer needs, and, where it takes longer to get to the nearest branch, we will introduce more ‘pop-up’ services in communities,” he added.