No plan to shut Bishop's Castle's last bank
Bishop's Castle's last bank will not close – for the time being.
There are no current plans to shut the HSBC branch in High Street – despite the bank announcing plans last month to axe up to 8,000 jobs in the UK and "trim" branches.
Steve Gracey, senior media relations manager for HSBC, said: "There are no current plans to close this branch."
The HSBC branch has been the only bank in the town since Barclay's moved out three years ago. A voluntary agreement between the banks in south Shropshire that the last branch would stay open if the nearest bank was more than six miles away ended in February.
Shropshire Councillor Charlotte Barnes said: "When Barclay's closed it had a significant impact on activity in the town and presented inconvenience to businesses – the loss of our last bank would seriously damage the commercial offer of the town.
"It's a pity that the banks cannot co-operate, while the footfall of an individual bank may be light, there must be enough for a combined, co-operating branch serving customers of a number of banks."
