Harpenden’s Member of Parliament Bim Afolami MP has written to the Chancellor and the Chief Executive of Barclays to request urgent meetings to discuss the future of in-person banking in the town.
It follows a decision by Barclays, communicated to Mr Afolami on Thursday 1st June, to close their branch on Harpenden High Street from 6th September 2023, which would leave the Hertfordshire town without any High Street banks. The town’s HSBC branch is set to close in July and recent years have seen the loss of Halifax, Santander and others from the High Street.
The Parliamentarian, who Chairs Parliament’s influential All-Party Parliamentary Group for Financial Markets and Services, has been campaigning for some time for a Banking Hub for the town in anticipation of a situation like this.
Bim Afolami MP said,
“I understand that the news of Barclays’ closure will cause a great deal of concern for Harpenden residents. Bank branches are a key service on our High Street – particularly for older and more vulnerable residents – and to be left without any High Street banks in a town the size of Harpenden is unacceptable.
“I have now written to the Chief Executive of Barclays to seek urgent clarifications on their assertion that they will open a new community location to provide some in-person services. It is vital that we have a clear understanding of what these will be and where they will be provided.
“I have also written to the Chancellor of the Exchequer to request an urgent meeting with him to discuss how we can protect in-person banking services in Harpenden moving forwards. Ideally this would be through a full Banking Hub, where a range of banks are represented. I have previously secured the commitment of other banks – including HSBC – to join such a Hub.
“Finally, this morning (Friday) I have been contacted by LINK, who can recommend shared banking services when a town loses bank branches. They have informed me that they will begin the process of setting up a deposit service to allow businesses and residents to deposit cash. This is a promising update, but I will be pushing them (and others) to upgrade this to a full Banking Hub.”
