- By Martin Jones & Sophie Parker
- BBC News
The banking hub will operate at the town’s post office
A new banking hub will open in a town which has been without a branch of any bank for almost a year.
Not-for-profit company Cash Access UK, which is funded by nine major banks, is behind the plans to open the hub in Royal Wootton Bassett.
It will operate in the town’s Post Office and workers from different banks will be available on alternate days.
Royal Wootton Bassett lost its last remaining bank in December 2022 when Lloyds closed.
The closure of Lloyds in December 2022 left Royal Wootton Bassett without a branch of any bank
An initial temporary hub is expected to open in the next few weeks, with a permanent one set to operate from March 2024.
Colin Hoare, who runs Greatfield Garden Centre, said “it will make a lot of difference” as at present he has to travel to Swindon when he needs change for the tills.
Business owner Colin Hoare said having a banking hub will save “a lot of bother”
He said it takes about an-hour-and-a-half to travel to Swindon and back, compared to the 20 minutes it used to take when there was a bank in Royal Wootton Bassett.
“It will save a lot of time and a lot of bother,” said Mr Hoare.
“Now you’ve got all that effort to go to Swindon. You have to queue and have to wait a lot of time to be served,” he added.
Rita and Ashwin Patel run the town’s post office and said they think it will make a big difference
Ashwin and Rita Patel have run the town’s Post Office for more than 12 years and said they had seen more people coming in for cash withdrawals since the bank closures, especially the elderly.
“They come in to see people face-to-face, they want to talk,” said Ms Patel.
“It will make a big difference. Since the banks have closed, a lot of the elderly people are finding it difficult,” she added.
Melissa Whittaker from Cash Access UK said there had been a positive response to the hubs elsewhere in the country
Cash Access UK plans to open more than 90 hubs across the UK, with 30 expected to open by the end of 2023.
Melissa Whittaker, community engagement manager, said they had found having access to cash in particular was important to millions of people.
“People are going to be able to go in and see a friendly face and also be able to see their bank representative on an allotted day of the week,” she said.
“Where we do have the hubs open in other communities, we’ve found it has had a really positive impact. It’s brought people into towns. It has increased footfall,” added Ms Whittaker.
