Pangbourne residents concern over bank closure

Parish council chairman John Higgs said it had been notified last week that the branch in The Square would be closing its doors on April 17.
He added that the parish council had not time to discuss the decision but would be raising it at an upcoming planning meeting.
The withdrawal of HSBC will leave the Lloyds branch in Reading Road with a monopoly in Pangbourne, following NatWest closing a branch in the village in 2011.
Pangbourne resident Judith Colgate said the news was very disappointing. “I have been a customer there for years, it will be a great inconvenience for us,” she said.
“Staff are friendly and provide fantastic personal service. It will be quite inconvenient if we want to pay in money we will have to go to Reading or Oxford. Natwest and Barclays have gone so we wonder how long Lloyds will stay.”
The loss of HSBC will also see the removal of a vital cash machine in the village.
Mrs Colgate said: “That will be a big inconvenience. There’s one in Lloyds that’s inside and you can withdraw money from the Post Office as well but they are not open all the time.”
Resident Samuel Bale said he was a bit peeved, having been a customer since the 1950s, and that he was thinking of closing his account.
He said his concern was that residents would see a repeat of meetings with representatives but the closure would happen anyway.
A spokeswoman for HSBC, Emma Fahy, said the decision was a response to changing customer habits. “They are increasingly using the convenience of internet, smart phone or telephone banking for their day to day needs,” she said.
“In common with other high street banks, footfall in our branches has fallen dramatically and is accelerating.
"We have seen a 30 per cent reduction in customer footfall over the last four years. It is never a decision we take lightly, but on occasions this has meant we have needed to close a branch Pangbourne is a case in point.
“All our personal customers have access to their accounts, to withdraw and pay in cash, at any UK post office. They are able to use the Pangbourne post office, in addition to other banking facilities in the town.
“We are looking into relocating the ATM through one of our external partners, and will update as soon as we know more.”