NatWest to shut bank in Hebden Bridge

The Hebden Bridge bank will close on February 24, 2015, after the number of transactions taking place has dropped by ten per cent in recent years..

The letter from Carolyn Julie Anne McGloughlin, local chief executive officer, states that the branch is closing “as many customers use other ways of banking with us, such as online, using the mobile app, by telephone and in the Post Office”.

Bank customer Kate Gill said: “Even though a lot of people do a lot of banking online now, it will be very difficult for some people to travel into Halifax to file cheques and it takes away from the community.”

NatWest customers in the Calder Valley have received letters informing them of the changes in the past few days.

The letter also informed customers who use the Hebden Bridge branch as the home branch documented on their bank statements and cheque books, will be changed to the Halifax NatWest on Waterhouse Street.

The ATM will stay in the community and there is an agreement in place with the Post Office in Hebden Bridge so that customers can withdraw cash, make deposits and check balances free of charge.

A NatWest spokesman insisted no jobs will be lost at the Hebden Bridge branch and that employees that worked there would be deployed elsewhere.