The banks that have closed across northern Lincolnshire mapped

The UK’s big banks have closed almost 1,000 branches since February 2022, as a new interactive map shows where branches have closed near you.

The closures have taken place since the banks launched a scheme that is meant to protect access to cash and face-to-face financial services last year – and northern Lincolnshire has not been immune. There have been five closures here in the past year.

Under a voluntary agreement, the banks began assessing the impact of every branch closure in order to “ensure that no community is left without the cash access and deposit services it needs”. The LINK initiative is meant to ensure that vulnerable customers and small businesses are not left behind in the switch to cashless payments and “virtual” banking.

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Since February 2022, hundreds of high street branches have been shut down, with banking hubs or free ATMs set up in areas left without any local bank. Less than two years into the scheme, the 1,000th local bank will close for good on November 15.

Around a third of the closures, 323, are in areas where there are no other banks remaining. This includes Immingham and Barton, though the latter is due to have a banking hub in the future.

All the major banks agreed to take part in the LINK initiative, including Barclays, HSBC, Natwest, Lloyds and Halifax. There have been five branch closures in the last year in northern Lincolnshire:

• Lloyds: Market Place, Barton-upon-Humber, closed November 6, 2022.
• Lloyds: Kennedy Way, Immingham, closed November 15, 2022.
• Natwest: Alexandra and Sea View Street corner, Cleethorpes, closed March 7, 2023.
• Natwest: Grimsby Road, Cleethorpes, closed October 3, 2023.
• HSBC: Market Place, Epworth, closed September 5, 2023.

The Barton, Epworth and Immingham closures marked the end of major bank branches in those towns. In Immingham, the Lloyds closure was opposed by a petition signed by more than 5,200 people.

Lloyds blamed the closure on declining customer numbers, but Cllr Stewart Swinburn, who represents the town, said: “When they spend millions of pounds on black horses, why can’t they keep Immingham branch open? We have done all we can to say why it should not close.”

Banking hubs are springing up in parts of the country which no longer have branches. Hubs are planned in Hornsea, in East Yorkshire, and in Barton. The hub location in Barton was confirmed last month as the former Lloyd’s branch.

Increasingly, former banks in northern Lincolnshire are being converted into other premises. For example, the former Barclays branch in Cleethorpes High Street will be turned into a restaurant.

Nick Quin, head of financial inclusion at LINK said: “As more people choose to bank online or pay using cash, the UK will need fewer cash machines and more bank branches will close. There are still over five million people who rely on cash and it’s LINK’s role to make sure that every high street continues to have free access to cash for as long as they need it.

“Alongside protecting access to cash, whenever any bank branch closes, LINK will assess that location to understand whether it requires additional services such as a new ATM or banking hub. To date, we’ve recommended almost 100 hubs which are beginning to open across the UK.”

An Age UK report earlier this year found four in ten over 65s do not manage their money online. Caroline Abrahams, the charity’s director, said: “The continuing avalanche of bank branch closures means that by the end of this year, there will be considerably fewer opportunities for face-to-face banking than there were even just a couple of years ago.”

Age UK has called for remaining branch closures to be put on hold until more banking hubs have opened in areas with no alternative services.

Original artice: https://www.grimsbytelegraph.co.uk/all-about/scunthorpe