Theale's last bank set to be axed

Councillor starts petition against impending closure of Lloyd's branch

A PETITION has been raised to try and stop the last bank in Theale withdrawing from the village.

Lloyds Bank announced last week that it would be closing its branch in High Street this June.

Lloyds is the last branch in the village since Barclays and NatWest closed in recent years.

More than 260 people have signed a petition started by the Liberal Democrat councillor for Theale, Alan Macro.

Mr Macro said: “This closure would cause hardship for both local businesses and residents.

“Local businesses would no longer be able to deposit cash at the bank.

“Closure would particularly affect pensioners and those without cars as the nearest Lloyds branch in Tilehurst is very difficult to reach by public transport.

“It is also extremely likely that West Berkshire Council will soon withdraw their support for the few buses between Theale and Tilehurst.

“As well as closing the branch, Lloyds are also proposing to remove their cash machines.

“I am therefore raising a petition asking Lloyds to reverse their closure decision and keep the branch open.”

But Lloyds has said that only 13 people regularly use the Theale branch on a weekly basis.

It added that 87 per cent of Theale customers use additional branches and that 75 per cent also used online or telephone banking.

A Lloyds Bank spokesperson said: “We have made the decision to close our Theale branch in June.

“This is because of the changing way customers choose to bank with us, which has resulted in customers using it less often.

“The majority of customers also now regularly use alternative branches or channels to complete their banking needs.

“We apologise for any inconvenience that this may cause, and have informed customers of the closest alternative branch, which is in Tilehurst.

“If there is a compelling reason for us to re-consider closure decisions following input from the local community, then we will take this into consideration.

“However, we are confident that our robust pre-closure assessment captures the local impacts and we have made a sound commercial decision – we welcome the opportunity to speak with local stakeholders to reassure them and explain the strong rationale behind the changes.”

People can sign the online version of the petition at www.theale.org.uk/campaigns