Lichfield’s MP says he is “very disappointed” after being informed of plans to close a bank in the city.
Michael Fabricant said that Barclays had confirmed to him that it would shut the doors of the branch on Breadmarket Street in September.
The banking firm had previously unveiled proposals to close down more than 130 branches across the country – over a quarter of its total estate – during the next two years.
Lichfield had not appeared on any of the firm’s initial lists of those outlets being shuttered permanently, but the Conservative MP for Lichfield said he had been informed the Barclays branch would be disappearing from the city centre in the coming months.
“I am very disappointed to learn that Barclays intend to close their branch in Lichfield in September.
“While I appreciate that retail banking is very different from 25 years ago with most transactions being conducted electronically, the closure of the branch will inconvenience many of its customers. I also feel sorry for the staff.
“Barclays say that people can use the nearby Post Office in Bakers Lane or use other cash machines in the city of Lichfield at rival banks.”
Michael Fabricant
David Bruce, head of corporate relations in the central region for Barclays, confirmed to the MP that the Lichfield site would disappear on 15th September, but that plans were in place to retain a link to the area.
“The decision to close a branch is never an easy one, however, the way people bank today is unrecognisable from 50 years ago when almost every banking transaction took place in a branch. Now, that number is less than 10% and we need to make sure that we are providing our services in ways that best reflect customers’ needs, including outside of traditional branch formats.
“This ongoing change in behaviour means we are seeing a sustained fall in customer transactions across our network and this is reflected at the Lichfield branch where there has been a 68% reduction in counter transactions in the last 12 months compared to the 12 months to March 2020.
“Although the branch is closing, we will still have an active presence in the community via a new and alternative physical presence.
“We plan to provide additional face-to-face access for banking services via one of our community locations from the point of closure. Further details, including the timings and the location of the Barclays Local site, will be communicated to our regular customers in the coming weeks.
“We appreciate that not all of our customers will adopt change at the same pace, and we would like to underline our commitment to supporting our vulnerable customers through this change.
“We have identified that in total, less than ten regular customers use this branch exclusively for their banking and do not interact with us in other ways. We will be making personal contact with our regular and vulnerable branch users to discuss their options and guide them through alternative ways to bank.”
David Bruce, Barclays
“Use it or lose it”
Lichfield’s MP said that he was concerned other banks could follow suit in the wake of the decision.
“My fear is that this growing trend of closing branches nationally is not confined to Barclays and that other branches might close too.
“The old adage of ‘use it or lose it’ applies to banks as well as it does to any other business.
“Frankly, I would consider closing my Barclays account if I had one and move to one of the other banks still open in Lichfield such as NatWest, HSBC, or Lloyds to help keep them open.
“I shall of course write to the head of Barclays asking them to reconsider their decision, but I know that in other areas they do not change their minds so I am not hopeful.
“Sadly, as an MP, I cannot instruct them to keep the branch open.”
Michael Fabricant
