MP welcomes rethink on banking hub for town

MP Graham Stuart standing in the partially cobbled street of a market town. He is wearing a blue suit and a green tie and is looking at the camera. Behind him there is a notice board and a number of old-fashioned-looking shops.Graham Stuart

MP Graham Stuart says physical banking facilities are "hugely important" to Hedon

Sarah Sanderson
East Yorkshire and Lincolnshire

An MP has said he is pleased the independent regulator has agreed to look again at whether a banking hub should be opened in an East Yorkshire town.

It comes after Lloyds Bank announced that its branch on St Augustine's Gate, Hedon, would close on 28 January 2026.

Graham Stuart, the Conservative MP for Beverley and Holderness, said it was important that the town continued to have physical banking facilities.

Link, the organisation that assesses which communities would benefit from a banking hub, initially recommended services should be run from the town's Post Office.

A banking hub is a shared space that provides basic banking services for multiple high street banks in communities where branch closures have occurred.

The photo shows a red-brick building. It has four Georgian-style windows and above them are the words 'LLOYDS BANK'. To the right is a cash machine, with the Lloyds logo on it. There is also a cash machine to the left. BBC/ Grace McGrory

The Lloyds branch, the last bank in the town, will close in January

Stuart, who has been campaigning on the issue since the Lloyds announcement, said: "In their assessment of Hedon – a town which serves more than 16,500 people – Link decided that we didn't need a banking hub, and we didn't need any new ATMs.

"They also decided we could make do with the Post Office – which is inside the Occasions card shop.

"That's why so many people told me they were fed up with this 'computer says no' approach, and why I'm so pleased I've managed to get Link to reassess Hedon."

Stuart said a banking hub was "hugely important" for both businesses and residents.

"Because a lot of the population is elderly, they prefer to use their cash to support their high street," he said.

"It's also the go-to place for people from surrounding villages."

In a statement, a spokesperson for Link said: "We're undertaking a review of our initial decision about cash services in Hedon.

"We will provide an update on the outcome of the appeal in due course."

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