Knaresborough: Town with no bank to get new banking 'hub'

The site of the new banking hub in Knaresborough will be chosen next year

A North Yorkshire town which currently has no bank is to become one of the first places in the UK to get a new "banking hub" in a scheme offering basic cash services on high streets.

Knaresborough's last bank closed in March this year, leaving just two ATMs.

Residents have been forced to travel to Wetherby or Harrogate, some miles away, since the closure of the Halifax bank.

The proposed hub would see the major banks offer their services on different days of the week.

It would be set up by the Access to Cash Action Group (ACAG), which is part of the banking services trade body UK Finance.

The initiative is to expand after two successful trials in Essex and South Lanarkshire.

The banks involved in the Knaresborough hub will include Barclays, HSBC, Lloyds, Nationwide Building Society, NatWest, Santander, TSB and Danske.

Only two ATMs remain in the North Yorkshire town since the last bank closed in March

According to the Office for National Statistics, the number of bank branches across the UK has fallen from more than 11,300 in 2012 to under 7,000 now.

Natalie Ceeney, from ACAG, said she was " delighted" the hub project was expanding.

"We know demand for cash is declining, but we also know it continues to play a vital part in the lives of at least five million people in the UK - including some of the most vulnerable in society," she said.

"The community pilots have shown there are many different ways to meet people's cash needs."

According to the Local Democracy Reporting Service, a decision on where and when the new facility will open will be made in the new year.

The town's Conservative MP Andrew Jones said: "This is great news for Knaresborough, a town starved of its banking facilities. I am sure this new facility will be well-used by residents, businesses and visitors."

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