Last bank in Lye set to shut - leaving shoppers with trip to Stourbridge

Shoppers in Lye have seen banks disappear in recent years and will be facing a trip to Stourbridge to if they want to go into a branch.

Concerns have been raised about the lack of access to banks in Lye and the inconvenience people will face if they need to speak to someone about their finances.

People will still be able to access money from two cashpoints on the High Street but, from March when the Lye branch closes, there will be no banks on the High Street.

It was revealed last week that the banking giant would be cutting 520 jobs as part of a three-year restructuring plan and is to close 49 branches in 2017.

A branch in Kings Norton, Birmingham, is also part of the cull.

Bosses said the branch closures reflected 'changing customer needs' and a reduction in the number of people going into branches due to the rise in online banking.

But Abdul Qadus, a community leader and school governor in Lye, stressed that banks were a crucial part of the High Street and that the area should not be left without a single branch.

Branches have gradually disappeared from High Street over the past few years.

A former Midland Bank is now a pharmacy and an old Barclays branch has been turned into a Co-op.

When Lloyds closes, shoppers from Lye will have to go to either Stourbridge, Halesowen or Merry Hill to get inside a branch.

Mr Qadus said: "Everything is being more centralised and people who live in smaller areas are being forgotten.

"There are always queues in there, it would be different if people were not using it. It is used by residents and businesses.

"The people who bank with Lloyds will have to go into Stourbridge to do their banking. Their bank is being taken away. These people are becoming victims of the circumstances."

Lloyds will axe jobs across retail, commercial banking, insurance, legal and strategy, group operations and consumer finance. It is creating 145 new roles as well across these business areas.

As part of the group strategic review, Lloyds will be closing the branches from the first quarter of 2017.

The Lloyds Group said in a statement last week: "This reflects changing customer needs, and the reduced number of transactions being made in branches.

"However, branches absolutely remain an important element in our multi-channel approach to meeting the full range of customer needs, and we expect to continue to have the biggest branch network in the UK.

"As part of this, we have also announced today the introduction of a new mobile branch service for Lloyds Bank to help ensure there is a continuity of branch banking services available in some of those areas affected by branch closures alongside other ways to access banking locally."

Brownhills, near Walsall, was left without a bank when HSBC announced it was closing a number of branches.

The company also closed banks in Smethwick, Rugeley and Stone.