Anger over Nationwide's plan to leave Bishop's Castle

A south Shropshire mayor has condemned a move by a national building society to close an outreach branch used by "half of the town".

Keith Pinches, mayor of Bishop's Castle, said it was "very sad" Nationwide Building Society planned to close its agency service in the town by the year end. And Peter Phillips, Shropshire councillor for the town, has asked Nationwide to reconsider or contact the Buildings Society Association to invite another firm to take its place.

He said elderly residents in the town were very concerned by the closure and feared they could be forced to travel as far as Shrewsbury to access a branch.

Councillor Pinches said: "I would say about half the town use it, it always seems to be busy."

He said that the closure would leave just two banks remaining in the town.

Councillor Phillips said: "The agency provides for these elderly people a very personal facility which is unavailable anywhere else in town - and certainly not in the same way from the banks and their ATMs.

"We believe that the nearest alternative branch is in Shrewsbury which of course is entirely outside the shopping and commercial geography of most residents of Bishop's Castle."

Lynsey Hallam, external relations manager for Nationwide, said: "As part of an ongoing review of distribution arrangements, which were announced in May, Nationwide has confirmed that it is to withdraw from third party agencies as of December 31."

Matthew Wyles, group distribution director for Nationwide, said: "We recognise the long-standing relationships many of our agents have with our customers and we thank them for their loyal service to Nationwide over the years.

"During these difficult times, every penny that we spend on unprofitable activity stops us returning value to our members in the form of better rates and products. Regrettably, it is no longer sustainable for us to operate an agency network which 95 per cent of our customers never use."

The network consists of 130 outlets located in third-party premises, such as estate agencies or solicitors' offices. They are managed by non-Nationwide staff and offer a predominantly savings-based counter service.

Simon Harris, who currently runs the service, said he had been told he could make no comment.

By Hannah Costigan