Petition against bank closure gets 700 signatures in a day

The petition gained 300 signatures in its first 24 hours.

Lib Dem Councillors Pete Roberts and Jake Berriman expressed their anger at the decision by Barclays

“The decision to pull out of town is a major concern for residents and traders alike” Councillor Roberts said.

“For many residents, the suggestion that they should go to Builth Wells or Newtown is not realistic. Having looked at the banks 'Consultation' document it raised more questions than answers and having undertaken further research we will be writing to the bank seeking clarification on a number of issues”

Councillor Berriman said: “Llandrindod North has one of the oldest populations in Wales with many reliant on banking services in town. To suggest an 80-year-old resident should get a bus to Builth Wells or go online when they don't have an internet connection is frankly an insult.”

Both councillors have already launched a petition to keep the branch open and will be developing a user survey over the next week to gather the evidence needed to challenge some of the assumptions made by the bank.

The campaign has gained the support of Mid and West Wales Senedd Member Jane Dodds.

“The banks are systematically pulling out of rural market towns without looking at innovative solutions such as sharing buildings. Off the back of the support, they have been given to see them through the Covid pandemic they owe rural communities a duty of care and I will be doing everything I can to help my council colleagues in their fight to save this branch,” she said.

The petition can be found at brlibdems.org.uk/llandod_barclays.

Barclays said that the number of counter transactions in the bank had gone down in the previous 24 months and 75 per cent of branch customers also use other ways to do their banking such as online and by telephone.

"We’ve identified that only 130 customers use this branch exclusively for their banking." a spokesman said.