'The bank is finished': call for rapid rollout of alternative to high-street branches in Lancashire
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That is the warning from county councillors who say Lancashire needs more of the so-called ‘banking hubs’ that are opening nationwide in order to maintain a face-to face service in town centres deserted by the banks that used to dominate them.
So far only two of the facilities have launched in the county, while another four are in the pipeline.
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Hide AdThe hubs provide a range of banking services that used to be taken for granted on most high streets until the collapse in branch numbers which began around a decade ago.


However, unlike the outlets that they seek to at least partially recreate, the new hubs serve all customers, no matter who they actually bank with. They have been set up for those people and businesses who either need or prefer to deal in cash, as well as to maintain bank access for elderly and disabled residents who might find it difficult or undesirable to make the switch to digital banking.
At a meeting of Lancashire County Council, members unanimously agreed to establish a working group to explore how the creation of banking hubs could be accelerated in the areas most affected by the dismantling of the branch network.
County Cllr Matthew Maxwell-Scott, who brought forward the proposal, said: “With the exception, perhaps, of our largest towns, the bank is finished…but banking isn't - and this is a way of keeping it going.”
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Hide AdHe added that “some pressure” should be put on Cash Access UK, the organisation that owns the new hubs - which are run by and use the branding of the Post Office - to speed up the delivery of the facilities in Lancashire.
“The decline of the high street bank is perhaps something that we mourn, but ultimately, as a consumer, I don't want to be paying for bricks and mortar that don't really deliver anything that I need, that then results in higher fees and charges.
“But…for those who do require more support - often older citizens [and] those who run cash small businesses - they still need the [services] of…a high street bank. The banking hubs effectively replicate those,” said County Cllr Maxwell Scott, who represents Lancaster Rural East.
The only two hubs so far to have opened in Lancashire are in Barnoldswick and Great Harwood. Others are planned for Bacup, Darwen, Kirkham and Morecambe – with expected opening dates of February and September 2025 having already been announced for Bacup and Morecambe, respectively.
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Hide AdBanking hubs open from 9am to 5pm, Monday to Friday, and some have ‘community bankers’ from individual bank brands who visit on a set day, so that customers can speak to someone from their own bank about more complicated enquiries.
More than 6,000 bank branches have closed across the UK since 2015, according to figures published by the consumer group Which earlier this year.
Great Harwood, Rishton and Clayton-le-Moors county councillor Noordad Aziz told the meeting that the next issue that needed to be dealt with was the availability of cash outside of the hours of the banking hubs.
“If you look at the number of free-to-use cash machines that have disappeared from our high streets across the county, they are significant,” he said, adding that those machines which levy a fee for use can charge “a significant amount of money.”
WHAT CAN YOU DO AT A BANKING HUB?
***pay in cash (notes and coins) and cheques
***withdraw cash (notes and coins)
***check your balance
***pay utility bills
***top up your gas and electricity
***Manage your PIN
***access change-giving services (for small businesses)
Source: Cash Access UK
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