THE ‘banking blitz’ which has seen a significant number of bank branch closures across Cornwall continues in full force, with the news that the Barclays branch in Wadebridge will close at the end of April.
Barclays, which operates the branch at 28 Molesworth Street in the town will close its doors for the final time on Thursday, April 25, 2024.
It is the latest in a recent swathe of closures in towns across Cornwall, with nearby Bodmin set to have no branches on its high street in the coming months with the previously announced closures of Lloyds and Halifax set to come into force in June 2024.
The announcement will leave Wadebridge with one permanent bank branch, with the Lloyds branch on Molesworth Street set to remain in situ, at least for the near future.
It leaves Wadebridge town centre with two free-to-use cash machines, outside the Lloyds branch and at the Co-Op supermarket on Jubilee Road, Old Railway Site, Wadebridge.
Services can also be accessed from a temporary post office located at Unit three, at the rear of Hamilton House on the Platt.
In a document explaining the reasons for the closure, the bank said that only 29 customers regularly use the Wadebridge branch as the only way to do their banking, adding that 90 per cent of people who use the branch have used other services either online or by mobile with 13 per cent also using nearby branches in the last 12 months.
The imminent closure will leave only Truro and Plymouth as the nearest branches for customers to see an individual face-to-face.
A Barclays spokesperson said: “As visits to branches continue to fall, with the majority of people preferring to bank online, we need to adapt to provide the best service for all our customers. This is reflected at Wadebridge, where we are delivering new ways to support our customers and the community with options for those who need in-person services. We plan to open a Barclays Local in the area, a cashless banking alternative where customers can meet a colleague face-to-face for a variety of support, as they would in a branch and without the need to travel.”