Cleveleys TSB branch set for June closure

The TSB announced in December that the outlet, on Victoria Road West, was among 70 branches to close in 2022.

It has now been confirmed that the Cleveleys branch will cease operating on June 8, with customers being informed of the date by the bank itself.

The closure will leave the town with just three bank branches remaining - the Halifax and Santander outlets, both on 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.

At the TSB, the closures will result in 150 job losses across the country, with those staff affected offered alternative roles.

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

TSB’s chief customer officer Robin Bulloch said of the closures: “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.

Once the Cleveleys branch has closed, the nearest one available will be the Blackpool outlet on Birley Street, which the TSB says is 4.7miles away.

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