Burnham-On-Sea’s branch of Barclays Bank is set to close down this autumn, it was announced on Friday (July 6th).
The branch in Victoria Street will close for the final time on Friday October 19, becoming the latest in a string of big name banks to shut in Burnham-On-Sea during recent years.
The bank revealed the news in a letter to customers, saying: “The decision to close a branch is never an easy one, however we are finding that fewer customers are using the branch to do their everyday banking.”
“Taking into consideration the alternative ways to bank that are available in the area, we have made the decision to close the branch.”
Burnham-On-Sea Chamber of Trade said the news is a blow: “The Chamber is extremely disappointed by this news after previous bank closures in Burnham. The closure of this long-standing Barclays branch in our town centre is a blow.”
“Whilst accepting that banking trends are changing, face to face access to financial services for businesses and consumers remains highly important at a local level.”
“We hope Barclays will reconsider this decision and we would call on Nationwide and Lloyds to affirm their commitment to having branches in Burnham.”
NatWest closed its Burnham branch last autumn. The branch, at the junction of Regent Street and Victoria Street, shut on October 10, 2017. It said 53.4 per cent of its customers were using digital banking.
HSBC also closed its branch in Burnham-On-Sea’s College Street at the end of January 2017. HSBC said it had seen a 28 per cent reduction in customers at the branch, prompting the closure.
