Since the closure of the NatWest Bank was announced recently, Spondon councillors and traders have campaigned to try and prevent the closure. Councillor Nicola Roulstone provides this update.
Online and written petitions were created along with a survey to identify residents’ concerns and the possible impact on the village centre. Over the period, 2,500 people signed the petition and 470 completed the survey.
Both were presented to NatWest on 22nd July but the bank’s response was very disappointing as they insisted the closure will go ahead as planned in September. This is based on the reduction of a small margin of customers they consider as "regular users", of which NatWest insists there are only 106 individuals out of the 6,500 account holders at the branch.
There was a 14% reduction of regular users at the branch compared to the 36% national average. We were also shocked to discover that not all account holders had been given written confirmation of the closure. The only reassurance given is that the cash machines will remain at the site and that customers can access some services such as cash withdrawals, balance enquiries and payments into accounts via the Post Office. A full list of services is available online: www.postoffice.co.uk/banking-services
We will inform residents of any updates whilst continuing our efforts to ensure this closure has as little impact on the village as possible and would like to thank everyone who signed the petition and completed the survey.
