Barclays customers are having to make a 50-mile journey to the nearest branch as the bank closes its branch
CUSTOMERS have struck after bosses decided to close the last bank in a town, forcing locals to make a 50-mile trek to the nearest Barclays branch.
Locals in Leiston, Suffolk, now have to travel 15 miles to visit their nearest Barclays in Lowestoft after the branch closed.
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On Saturday, local residents staged a protest outside the Barclays branch in Leiston, which will close on May 17.
A local business owner told the Sun the decision to close the branch was 'foolish'. The man, who ran a shop for 30 years, said: 'The nearest Barclays is miles away so I don't know what they are thinking.
'They're just crazy. Sometimes you have to step into the bank during your lunch break to have a chat with someone. But all that goes out the window.
“This is a very busy town in the summer months with many holiday homes in the area. A bank is needed.”
A manager of a local coffee shop said, “Yes, I think it's stupid too. Local businesses need a bank on their doorstep. It will be very difficult if the move happens.”
Barclays has said it plans to replace the branch with a cashless Barclays Locals, where customers can speak to staff.
The campaign to save the branch is being led by Therese Coffey, MP for the Suffolk coast.
She said: “My past experience is that Barclays is quite shameful and shameless and will continue to try to close the branch, but the number of signatories to the petition has allowed me to demonstrate the power of local feeling.”
Julia Ewart, a prospective parliamentary candidate for the Liberal Democrats, recently led a protest in the village.
In a post on social media, Ms Ewart said: “The announcement of the closure of the Barclays branch in Leiston has been deemed 'disappointing'!
“You told me it's infinitely more than that! You want the branch to remain open.
“As a customer it is not acceptable to close because there is no other branch in the Suffolk Coastal constituency.
“It's three hours each way to get to an active counter – in Lowestoft or Ipswich once you've parked.
We are looking at the legislative and policy issues and why it should remain open.”
Customers moving to another bank will still have to travel seven miles to and from Saxmundham, which has an HSBC.
A Barclays spokesperson said: 'In Leiston we plan to open a Barclays Local – a cashless banking site where customers can meet a colleague face-to-face for banking support.'