NEARLY 500 people have backed a petition calling for the NatWest Bank branch in Barnard Castle to remain open.
The branch is due to close on May 1 following an announcement by the bank late last year.
The decision was widely condemned because the branch is vital for people who cannot use, or do not have access to, internet banking.
Barnard Castle’s county councillors Richard Bell, Ted Henderson, George Richardson and James Rowlandson launched a petition calling on the bank to keep the branch open.
The petition is supported by Barnard Castle Town Council.
Some 487 people have signed the petition which is to be handed over to senior officers of Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS), which owns NatWest.
Cllr Bell said: “This is a good response, given that we haven’t been doing street stalls – not the weather for it – and it’s relied on people seeing the petition in shops and signing it.
“I’d like to thank the shops that hosted it, particularly the Mercury and McFarlane’s butchers, at Middleton, who did really well, and also everyone who signed it.”
He added that the tax payer-owned Royal Bank of Scotland, which recently reported a £752million profit, needs to show a concern for the community and find creative ways of keeping branches open.
He said: “Currently they are wanting the benefit of holding our money at next to no cost to themselves. Government should regulate the behaviour of the banks if they won’t behave responsibly.”
The issue was raised in Parliament where Teesdale MP Helen Goodman spoke out against the closure.
The bank maintains that only 69 customers use the branch each week and 86 per cent of its local clients bank in other ways.
The figures are disputed by people who use the branch and have stood in queues that stretch to the door on some days.
Cllr Bell said: “There is clearly a generational shift. Young people may well look at branches as they do high street telephone boxes as quaint relics of the past, but the pace of change is too swift and the provision for people in small towns and villages is not adequate. For some people banks are a vital lifeline.
“Not everybody can use internet banking and not everything can be done on it. We do not yet have a cashless society. Small businesses still need cash facilities and the ability to use cheques. Local churches and charities, many of which are still wedded to collecting cash and cheques, also need these facilities.”
Cllr Bell added that he had written to RBS directors about the need for the branch to remain open.
