Councillors urge bank bosses to reconsider closures

A RAFT of planned bank closures will be devastating for the region and “discriminate” against elderly and disabled people, it is being argued. At the beginning of the year, Lloyds Banking Group announced the closure of several Bank of Scotland branches across the UK, including four in Dumfries and Galloway. The closures are part of a wider plan to shut 136 branches by March 2026, as the bank adapts to the increasing shift towards digital banking. With some closures approaching next month, Dumfries and Galloway councillors last week agreed to write a letter to banking chiefs asking them to reconsider any planned closures. Councillor Davie Stitt tabled a formal motion on the issue at last Thursday’s full council meeting. He said: “If all the bank closures go ahead, by March next year Dumfries and Galloway is only going to have two major Bank of Scotlands – Dumfries and Stranraer. “I know other areas have been deeply affected with bank closures, but if Castle Douglas goes it only leaves one bank in the Stewartry, and that’s the Royal Bank in King Street, Castle Douglas. “In Dalbeattie, we’ve got no banks. We’ve only got a post office, three ATMs. Kirkcudbright has got a banking hub. “It’s alright banks describing footfall falling, but unless you’re young and IT-minded, I think older people are discriminated against.” He added: “The banks just wield a big axe and they don’t give two hoots about the public. “They’ve got to start respecting the community, whether it’s from Langholm to Stranraer.” Annandale North Councillor Carolyne Wilson seconded the motion, saying: “These closures primarily impact rural communities, elderly, and businesses who rely on face-to-face services and cash deposit facilities. “The Bank of Scotland is closing in Moffat. That means people will have to travel 21 miles to the nearest bank which, given the issues we’re having with buses right now, is not easy.” Councillor Kim Lowe said: “Not everyone has access to, is confident with, or trusts online banking – and face-to-face contact is important." Castle Douglas and Crocketford Councillor Pauline Drysdale had contacted chiefs at Lloyds Banking – parent company of Bank of Scotland – on behalf of constituents. She said: “I have got written assurance that the Bank of Scotland will investigate pleas for banking hubs."