Leighton Buzzard and Dunstable bank closures – MP urges Barclays to think again

Mr Selous has asked Barclays to think again about the closure of the branches

Barclays announced last week that it plans to close 14 branches nationwide, including its Dunstable branch in High Street North, and Leighton Buzzard branch in Market Square.

Under the proposals, the Dunstable branch will close on October 13 and the Leighton Buzzard branch a week later.

The company cites falling footfall, saying under 10 people use the Dunstable branch and 11 people regularly uses its’ Leighton Buzzard branch.

But MP Andrew Selous urged Barclays to think again, saying he regularly sees people queueing in both branches.

He said: “I was very disappointed to learn from Barclays last week that they intend to close the Dunstable and Leighton Buzzard branches.

"Banks are important anchor institutions in our High Streets and I have often seen people queueing to be served in both branches. I have written to Barclays to ask them to reconsider and to make commitments about the availability of cash points, and to find out more about their proposed alternative mobile service provision and how people are going to know where and when to find it.”

In a statement on the closures Barclays said: “As there are lots of ways to manage your money without even leaving your home, we’re seeing many customers choosing to bank using our app, and Online or Telephone Banking. This has had a big impact on the number of customers coming in to see us.

“When deciding whether to close this branch, we looked carefully at how it’s been used and how customers are banking in other ways.”