Alex Sobel MP and Councillor Jonathan Pryor have responded to Nat West following the announcement of the closure of Nat West in Headingley, set for 8 June this yr.
The banking big introduced the closure of 32 branches, together with a number of RBS websites, final week, attributing this choice to the rise of on-line banking.
Each Sobel and Pryor expressed their considerations in regards to the closure of the Headingley department, stating that though many individuals do use on-line banking, this closure would exclude many purchasers and enhance the digital divide.
In a letter to Nat West, the pair wrote: “We perceive the proliferation of digital banking and the numerous advantages it offers.
“However we additionally know that there are numerous who’re excluded from this, significantly aged and weak clients.
“In accordance with a current Lloyds Financial institution’s Buyer Client Digital Index, 9 million individuals can’t use the web with out assist, and 11.7 million individuals lack the important digital abilities for on a regular basis life.
“Your letter states that there’ll nonetheless be a department in Leeds Metropolis Centre, a ‘ten minute drive from Headingley’. As you understand, there are numerous clients who don’t drive and for many who do, a spherical journey between Headingley and the town centre, on roads which might be already at capability, may simply take over 90 minutes.”
The letter appeals to Nat West to vary their choice and maintain the final Headingley department open, and means that by doing so they’d additionally cut back visitors and air pollution.
The complete listing of closures throughout the UK impacts one other NatWest financial institution in Leeds, situated in Leeds Victoria, in addition to a Royal Financial institution of Scotland on Park Row.
Additional closures embody websites in Essex, Manchester and a number of other in London – together with the Royal Financial institution of Scotland department in NatWest’s London headquarters.
“We perceive and recognise that digital options aren’t proper for everybody or each state of affairs, and that after we shut branches now we have to guarantee that no-one is left behind,” the financial institution stated.
“We take our accountability significantly to help the individuals who face challenges in shifting on-line, so we’re investing to supply them with help and options that work for them.”
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