Bank giant urged to do more for Torquay after branch closure

'What are they actually putting back into communities?'

High street banking giant Lloyds is being urged to make sure Torquay’s shoppers aren’t left in the lurch when its town centre branch closes down.

The branch in Fleet Street will close on Tuesday 5 November, with Lloyds claiming most of its customers now bank online.

Torbay’s Liberal Democrat MP Steve Darling has met representatives from the bank at Westminster to stress the need to cater for customers after the branch closes in Torquay for good.

The company is offering customers help on switching to online services, and says its nearest branch is now in Paignton, just over three miles away. Banking services are also offered at the Post Office in nearby Fleet Street.

Four staff will be affected by the closure, but it is understood that there are no compulsory redundancies.

But Mr Darling said he is ‘disappointed’ at the closure. “It feels very much that it is just a numbers game,” he said. “Large banks do make significant profits. What are they actually putting back into communities? How are they looking after our town centres?”

He said the decision was made without taking account of changes over the next few years in Torquay town centre as a result of government ‘Town Deal’ investments.

And, he said, services at Post Office counters are currently limited. Banks could do more to help them broaden their facilities to such things as opening new bank accounts.

“The perfect solution is to keep the banks open, but the economics go against that,” he added. “We need to ask the banks how they are adding to the viability of our high streets.”