Ferndown | Posted on February 3rd, 2025 | return to news
Frustration in Ferndown as Lloyds Bank set to close
Lloyds Bank has announced it will shut the branch on Victoria Road in Ferndown on 17 November.
Lloyds Bank has announced it will shut the Victoria Road branch in Ferndown on 17 November. The closure will mean Nationwide Building Society is only high street banking provider available in the local area.
Ferndown is one of 136 branches across the country that the bank intends to shut by March next year. Lloyds claims the decision is because customers are using mobile and online banking services instead of branches.
According to a report published by Lloyds, customer transactions in the Ferndown branch are down 50 per cent in the last five years, while cashpoint usage is down 23 per cent.
While bank account closures may not inconvenience those able to use online banking, this is not an option for everyone. The government has stressed the importance of access to cash for older and more vulnerable people. Banking industry figures claim that 1.5 million people mainly use notes and coins in their daily lives, as it can be easier to budget with physical money. According to Lloyds report, two thirds of users of the Ferndown branch are aged over 55.
The move has frustrated locals. Writing on Facebook, Darrell Trevor Lake said: “The reason we moved from Barclays to Lloyds was because Lloyds said they wouldn’t do this, Ferndown high street now is going to be over-priced charity shops and hair dressers.”
Ferndown Town Cllr Mike Parkes said: “Both Cllr Cathy Lugg and myself are very saddened to learn the last bank in Ferndown is closing at the end of this year. We pay tribute to all the staff who work hard supporting our residents in the branch.”
To try and solve the situation, Cllr Philip Leach of Ferndown Town Council has proposed setting up a banking hub in the town. A banking hub would offer the ability to withdraw money and make payments at the counter and provide a facility for representatives of each of the banks to be present on different days of the week to deal with face-to-face queries from customers. A total of 13 banks support other similar hubs, including Lloyds, HSBC, Natwest, and Barclays.
Cllr Leach said: “In order to get a Banking Hub set up, we first need to request a review of Cash Access in our Town. The link to the form is below, and as many people as possible need to complete and submit it, so that we can trigger a review by Link/the Post Office to establish whether there is a need and sufficient demand for a Banking Hub.”
To fill out the form, follow this link: https://www.link.co.uk/helping-you…/request-access-to-cash.
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