Part of Stockport could become 'banking desert', councillors warn
Part of Stockport could become a 'banking desert' unless urgent action is taken, a councillor has warned.
The comments were made in a council meeting last week over NatWest's plan to close its site at 44 Heaton Moor Road on June 3, alongside more than 50 other high street branches.
Heatons North councillor David Sedgwick said the move will leave Stockport residents north of the town centre without anywhere local for in-person banking services.
"This is a huge loss for residents and businesses who rely on in-person banking and face-to-face financial services," Cllr Sedgwick said at a town hall meeting on 3 April.
"We cannot allow financial exclusion in our communities, so we must try to take action now."
Councillors in Stockport urged NatWest to rethink its decision, saying closing the branch would impact areas with 'significant deprivation' and people who 'rely on in-person banking services'.
NatWest said it is planning to move ahead with the closure despite the concerns, but did not comment further.
The bank has advised its customers who use the Heaton Moor Road branch that the nearest alternative can be found in Stockport town centre, more than two miles away, as well as branches in Didsbury and Chorlton.
Reddish North councillor Holly McCormack seconded the motion on banking during Thursday's meeting at Stockport town hall, saying the Heaton Moor Road NatWest branch is a vital service for many in the neighbourhood.
"We have a lot of elderly people in Reddish and that was a lifeline for them, losing our last bank is something that we don't want to see happening," she added.
NatWest's branch in Hazel Grove is also set to shut its doors on June 19 as part of the closures.
As part of the motion debated by Stockport councillors last week, the council agreed to write to NatWest, the Financial Conduct Authority, and the government, with concerns over the bank's decision to close the Heaton Moor Road branch.
The council also committed to speaking to other banking providers about the possibility of setting up a banking hub in northern Stockport.
A banking hub was opened in the Village Square in Bramhall last year, offering 'customers of all major banks and building societies access [to] cash services from the Post Office counter service'.
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