Banking hub opens in town hit by branch closures

Sam Baker, banking hub operator, said she expected demand for the service to grow

A new banking hub offering face-to-face services for residents and businesses has opened in a town affected by branch closures.

The hub is based at Frome Library and provides a counter service for cash withdrawals, deposits and bill payments.

Staff from Halifax, NatWest, HSBC, Barclays, and TSB will be available on different weekdays to help customers.

Banking hub operator, Sam Baker, said she expected demand to grow as more people learned about the service.

The banking hub is based at Frome Library

"I think it is a long time since there have been five different banks representing the town," added Ms Baker.

Campaign group, Prosper Frome, spent two years pushing for improved banking access in the town after a series of closures.

"We were just gobsmacked at the seeming lack of interest and concern around providing a local service," said group member Jean Boulton.

"So myself and my colleague, Sam Evans, started to campaign for better banking services and really understand what was possible."

Ms Boulton said the community response to the hub had been positive, and Prosper Frome was now working with Cash Access UK and Frome Town Council to secure a permanent location within the next 12 months.

Councillor Anne Hills said the move was good for the community and for banks

Councillor Anne Hills, of Frome Town Council, told BBC Radio Somerset the move was good not just for the community but for banks too.

"Having one place that is a trusted space for people to use, I think that is cheaper for the banks and better for the town too," she said.

Frome mayor, Andy Jones, said there had been "a lot of tension" after bank closures

Frome mayor, Andy Jones, said there had been "a lot of tension" in the town after "bank after bank" closed, and welcomed the hub's opening.

"Businesses and people who rely on cash have been getting more and more concerned about what that means for the future of town," he said.

"It is vital to the vitality of the town that we have something like this. There seems to be a lot of positivity about it."