Dismay at Shropshire NatWest bank closures
Customers and town leaders have spoken of their dismay after the latest bank closure in Shropshire.
It comes after the Co-operative Bank shut its Whitchurch branch in High Street this week, with two staff relocating and another two facing redundancy.
Councillor John Murray, mayor of Wem, said he is "furious" with the news.
He said: "I am very passionate about this because NatWest has been in Wem for 170 years.
"The manager and staff are superb. I was in there the other day and they were very caring and helpful.
"I have had lots of comments about how amazing they are.
"It is not good enough to say it is closing because the branch is not busy - it is a very busy branch and a lot of elderly people use it.
"We will be discussing it tonight at the town council meeting to see if there is anything we can do.
"We want to try and keep the branch but they seem determined to close it.
"If you lose a bank then you lose the footfall in the town.
"We have lost enough in Wem already. Banks are the heart of a town and we are losing a part of that.
"We only have one bank left now - Barclays.
"All the big banks are pulling out of market towns which is very sad."
NatWest spokesman Sean Palmer described the closure as a "difficult decision".
But he added: "We will ensure there are a number of alternative ways for people in the area to continue to bank with us.
"We have reached an agreement with the local Post Office so that our customers can pay money in, take money out, check balances and business customers can get coinage.
"Between now and the closure date, we will engage with our customers, local businesses and the wider local community to make sure they are aware of the alternative ways of accessing their banking in the local area, and to answer any questions they might have."
Mr Palmer said the Wem branch was being closed because the number of transactions there had reduced by 18 per cent since 2011.
The announcement is the latest bank closure to hit customers in north Shropshire.
