“Barclays is abominable the way it’s going on" - Biggleswade bank closure labelled an 'absolute disgrace'

A decision by Barclays to close its Biggleswade branch has been labelled “an absolute disgrace” by a town councillor, although he revealed the firm is looking to set up a hub in the town.

The company’s recent communication about the process prompted town councillors to agree to debate the issue at their next meeting, under a proposal from councillor Duncan Strachan.

Barclays announced its premises at 45 Biggleswade High Street would shut on Friday, August 18, as part of a further 12 branch closures.

Councillor Strachan explained: “The bank wrote to people talking about consulting with the community, but it has made the decision already.

“The Post Office isn’t an acceptable alternative. You can pay in cheques there, but it won’t go into the bank account that day. They get posted to the bank and can be lost because that happens.

“People can draw cash from a post office, but there’ll be limits on that. It won’t have the cash which the businesses in the town will need.

“During the last few years with Covid, you were physically stopped from using the counter by the staff and pointed to the machines.

“The nearest branches will be St Neots and Hitchin. How do the elderly and disabled get there?” he asked. “It’s absolutely ridiculous.

“This is a problem not only for Biggleswade, but the whole country. Once Barclays goes, there’ll only be Lloyds.

“Service staff there don’t know if they’ll be open next week or not. They’ll get about 20 minutes notice before any closure is announced, I understand.

“This has got to stop. We should be making representations on behalf of the people of Biggleswade to Barclays.

“The reason for getting our MP to raise this in Parliament is because it goes far beyond the town. It may be a foregone conclusion. It’s an absolute disgrace.”

Town councillor Madeline Russell agreed, saying: “Barclays is abominable the way it’s going on. They don’t want to serve you. They keep pushing you towards the machines.”

Deputy mayor Mark Knight, who was chairing the meeting, wondered whether the council should “reach out to Lloyds Bank, Nationwide Building Society and Halifax” as they still have branches locally.

“If they made a commitment to stay open for the next five years, that’s something we could potentially promote and say ‘if you’re not happy with Barclays, these organisations are committed’ to remaining,” he explained.

Councillor Strachan added: “I’ve no objection to that. Lloyds and Nationwide are finding the benefits of Barclays’ shutting in that respect. We could write to them expressing our future concerns.

“They’re thinking of banking hubs and Barclays is looking at finding somewhere in the town. The manager told me she’d emailed Central Bedfordshire Council seeking a venue and was waiting for a reply.”

The council unanimously agreed councillor Strachan’s proposal to write to Barclays about its failure to consult in advance about the closure, copying the correspondence to CBC and Conservative North East Bedfordshire MP Richard Fuller, and to ask him to raise the matter in Parliament.