Anger as York bank branch to close – Hundreds sign petition

Hundreds of people have signed a petition calling on a planned bank branch closure to be overturned.

Barclays have given notice that their branch in Haxby will shut on Wednesday 5 October.

It says that too few people use it to keep it open.

One Haxby resident told YorkMix: “I’ve often gone and had to queue as five, six, seven people are ahead of me.

“It’s the older residents who are going to suffer. It’s not on to expect them to have to travel into town to do their banking.

“What Barclays are doing is outrageous.”

Fight to save it

Haxby and Wigginton Liberal Democrat councillors are fighting to keep the branch open.

They are set to write to the chief operating officer of Barclays Banking Group to voice concerns over the closure, particularly the loss of local jobs and negative impact on the local community.

And they have set up the petition calling for the decision to be overturned. More than 400 people have signed so far.

Cllr Andrew Hollyer, Liberal Democrat councillor for Haxby and Wigginton Ward, said: “The news of the planned closure to the Barclays Bank in Haxby is of great concern to the local community, particularly with the potential loss of a locally accessible banking service.

“It’s crucial we can convey the extent of disapproval with the plans in the community, so please do take the chance to sign the petition, which we will be using to lobby the banking group to save the local service.”

According to Barclays’ research, “the number of counter transactions [in Haxby] has gone down in the previous 24 months, and additionally 88% of our branch customers also use other ways to do their banking such as online and by telephone”.

They say:

• Haxby customers using other ways to do their banking has increased by 14% since 2016
• In the past 12 months, 35% of the branch’s customers have been using nearby branches
• They’ve identified that only seven customers use this branch exclusively for their banking.