A PETITION to stop the closure of a bank in Barnard Castle was delivered on the same day that go-ahead was given for its ATM to be removed.
Durham County Council’s south and west planning committee gave Natwest Bank permission to remove its ATM on Thursday, April 19, only hours after county councillor Richard Bell delivered a petition to the branch manager Nicola Smith. The bank refused photographers permission to capture the handover.
Cllr Bell said: “This disdain and high-handedness has characterised their approach throughout. Unlike public bodies they have nobody to force them to adhere to minimum standards of public engagement and consultation.”
Some 487 people signed the petition calling for Royal Bank of Scotland, which owns Natwest, to reconsider the branch closure.
A bank spokesperson said the closure would go ahead despite the petition because more people are doing their banking digitally.
Cllr Bell said: “Thank you to everyone who took the time to sign – we have not had success but at least we made it harder for them.”
It was Cllr Bell who called for the application to remove the ATM and signage to be taken to the county council’s planning committee, instead of it being dealt with internally by county planning staff.
He said: “It is a sensitive town location and I did not want the bank to take a hasty decision to make the branch unworkable.”
Barnard Castle Town Council supported the application with reservations that the two sills that were modified above the ATM be returned to match their original condition.
The need to retain the night safe was also queried by the town council.
County planners recommended the application for approval because it would “preserve the special architectural and historic interest of the listed building” .
