Royal Wootton Bassett banks to be replaced by new hub

Lloyds Bank in Royal Wootton Bassett will close on 6 December

There are plans to create a new banking hub to help residents of a rural town access cash.

Lloyds Bank in Royal Wootton Bassett, Wiltshire, announced that its branch - the last in the town - will close on 6 December.

According to Wiltshire Councillor Jacqui Lay, a national agent has been appointed to find opportunities for a site for the hub.

Ms Lay said: "The big challenge is [finding] a new location."

A banking hub operates like a traditional branch, but with different banks all under the same roof, according to the Local Democracy Reporting Service.

Banks will provide staff on rotation so that trained specialists from each one are available on different days.

An online survey was launched for Royal Wootton Bassett residents in early October to see what services people use most frequently.

Ms Lay said: "As a customer of Lloyds Bank in Royal Wootton Bassett I was dismayed to see it was planning to close in December as this was the last bank standing!

"It is the more vulnerable, older and younger people, who need an actual building and friendly faces to have that independence to deal with their finances and to also be able to use cash.

"Not all of us can, or are willing, to use online or telephone banking and many still want the anonymity of spending cash on purchases and not have to use cards. We don't all want to be tracked to what we like to buy!''

Ms Lay added that the hub should take around 12 months to set up, once a suitable site has been identified.

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