ROGER Williams MP has this week used a Westminster debate to tackle the issue of rural banking, calling for more to be done to ensure Rhayader is not adversely affected.
The politician’s comments follow the closure of Barclays Bank last Friday.
“There has been a worrying trend of bank closures in rural areas,” said the MP after the debate on access to banking, which he secured. “Over the last 20 years, more than 7,000 banks have closed in sparsely populated locations, with Wales being particularly badly affected.
“In my constituency, Barclays Bank in Rhayader closed on Friday and already the branch is being gutted and the cash point has gone.
“Local residents are understandably concerned by this, and many Barclays' customers now face a 24-mile round trip to their nearest branch, in an area where often public transport is infrequent at best.
“There is now only one bank, with a single cash point, in Rhayader and this branch is only open for 18 hours a week. Not only is this worrying for local residents but it is potentially detrimental to the tourist trade on which the town relies.”
This is a problem that is not unique to Rhayader but is being repeated throughout rural areas, the MP went on to say.
“The lack of internet provision in rural areas, the withdrawal of the cheque in 2018 on which many people, particularly the elderly and vulnerable, are so dependent on, and the announcement that the much hoped for ‘PostBank’ will not go ahead, will further exacerbate this problem for many rural communities.
“I feel that a bank has a duty of care to its customers, particularly in rural areas where they are so important for so many people, and I used the debate today to highlight these concerns and urge the Minister to consider how these issues could be resolved, possibly through the creation of community banks.”