Andrew Gwynne, MP for Denton and Reddish, has slammed Halifax’s decision to close their Denton branch.
At midday today Halifax announced that – effective from the 30th of August – the branch will shut, leaving the town without a bank. The bank has said that closures are part of a move to respond to changes in customer patterns and reduced footfall in physical branches.
However, Gwynne has stated that the closure will ‘exclude customers’ from accessing banking services and leave local residents in the lurch.
Commenting, Andrew Gwynne said:
“This is an incredibly short-sighted decision that will exclude customers from accessing banking services.
I appreciate that the way people bank is changing, but local people need to be able to access a physical bank, especially if they are not comfortable or able to access online services. I’m incredibly concerned that this decision will leave local people in the lurch.
I am also disappointed at the lack of communication from Halifax before reaching this decision. I was only informed of the closure a few minutes before the public announcement was made, leaving me no time to argue against this decision on behalf of residents. I will be speaking with the bank directly, and urging them to reverse this decision.”