By Rebecca Hannant
LINK, the UK’s cash access and ATM network, has confirmed that it will not be opening a banking hub in Hedon.
Last week Lloyds Bank announced that its Hedon branch would close at the end of January next year, along with 48 others across the country.
The bank says that due to increasing demand for online services, and other banking options being available locally, the branch in Hedon will close on January 28. As part of the closure, the cash machines at the site will also be decommissioned.
The Hedon branch is the last remaining bank in the Holderness region, with the nearest alternatives in Hull and Withernsea.
The move has raised concerns among residents who say they rely on the branch to access cash and other services, while others have questioned the security of online banking.
Following the announcement, Beverley and Holderness MP Graham Stuart called for a banking hub to restore services to the South West Holderness region.
To support the campaign, Mr Stuart launched a petition calling for a dedicated hub in Hedon, which residents can sign at grahamstuart.com/HedonBank. He says that so far, he has received 600 signatures from people across South West Holderness.
As part of the closure process, Lloyds had to present evidence to LINK, which then assessed the banking needs of the community to see if a hub was viable. However, following an assessment, LINK has confirmed that Hedon will not receive a hub as the town does not meet its eligibility critieria.
The criteria for a banking hub require a town to have at least 70 shops and an adult population of 10,000. While the population meets sufficient need, LINK says the town only has 39 shops, making it insufficient to warrant a hub.
It also says ATM access in Hedon is already sufficient, even without Lloyds, and that the town is too close to services in Hull. However, LINK has recommended improvements to the Post Office, including enhanced disabled access.
A spokesman for LINK said: “We carry out assessments when a bank branch closes or if people in the local community ask us to, and we publish the outcome of our assessment and any recommendations we make for new cash access services.
“Following our recent assessment after the announced closure of the Lloyds Bank branch, we were pleased to recommend enhanced disabled access to the Post Office in Hedon that will provide access to cash for people and businesses in the town. The service is delivered by Cash Access UK and the Post Office, and we look forward to seeing the adjustments in place.”
Hedon resident Joyce Whittle said: “Lloyds and LINK should be ashamed of their betrayal of Hedon and surrounding villages. They risk the degradation of our community and town, for both residents who choose not to, or cannot, go online to bank, and impact our businesses, footfall and trade for the shops.
“The computer program that has been used to decide whether Hedon warrants a banking hub is not fit for purpose. How can they exclude, or make it so much more difficult, for our elderly, vulnerable, disabled and those not wishing to go online, to access banking services and cash?”
Mr Stuart says he “won’t stop fighting for Hedon”. He has written to the Sub Postmaster to support the Post Office, which is likely to receive an influx of customers, and is working with ward councillors John Dennis and Sue Steel to focus on supporting local access to cash and essential services.
See next week’s Gazette for more on this story.