SANTANDER has announced it will be closing almost a hundred branches across the UK, including five in East Sussex.
Affected branches in the county are Bexhill, East Grinstead, Crowborough, Seaford and Uckfield. The banks haven’t said when Bexhill and Uckfield will close, but the other branches will shut their doors in June.
Bexhill and Battle MP, Kieran Mullan, says he is angry that another vital resource is disappearing from the High Street. He said: “It is disappointing to see that Santander will be closing its Bexhill branch as it is the last high street bank remaining in the town. Whilst I accept that people have changed the way they bank, doing more online, I know this will cause worry for local residents about how they will continue to access bank services.
“It is more important than ever, that we retain the services of a major Post Office branch in Bexhill which can provide day-to-day banking services, and I am keen to look at the possibility of creating a banking hub for the town where people can also access advice and carry out major banking transactions without having to travel to neighbouring towns.
“Access to cash remains very important to a town like Bexhill. Using cash has become increasingly popular for people on restricted incomes who want to be able to better manage their finances. With so many banks closing, we have lost a lot of cashpoints so I will also be working to ensure that access to cash points in the town remains freely available.”
The bank has blamed customer habits for the closures with more people banking online, rather than visiting the branches.
A spokesperson for Santander UK, said: “Closing a branch is always a very difficult decision and we spend a great deal of time assessing where and when we do this and how to minimise the impact it may have on our customers.
“However, we believe that the introduction of our new Community Bankers and the exciting plans we have for our remaining network of 349 branches and Work Cafés, alongside the rapid and innovative improvements to our award-winning mobile banking app, will provide the right balance of digital banking and human interaction when required.”
