BARCLAYS Bank closes the doors at its Llandrindod Wells branch for the last time on Thursday (August 26) after last gasp efforts to save it failed.

However, while news of the closure has caused distress and concern among town residents and other users who travel to the spa town to bank there, locals are being assured that a positive alternative does exist. Three local post office branches offer banking services – including two in the spa town itself and one in the neighbouring village of Howey.

The nearest post offices are located in Station Crescent and Tremont Road, as well as a mobile post office service available at Howey Village Hall.

“The closure of the branch will doubtless be disappointing to Barclays customers in Llandrindod Wells. However, alternative banking provision is available to local residents at post office branches nearby,” said Ruth Buckley-Salmon, of the National Federation of SubPostmasters.

“Each of these branches offers banking services – including deposits, free cash withdrawals and balance checks, as well as offering face-to-face access to government services, bill payment, foreign currency, travel insurance and, of course, postal services.

“There are currently 2,000 free-to-use ATMs installed across the UK post office network also. Post offices are proving vital to retaining people’s and businesses’ access to cash as the banks continue to desert the high street in order to cut costs and increase their profits.

“Every post office plays a vital role within the heart of the local community. Post offices provide a reliable and essential service which has continued at a high standard across the whole of the UK throughout the pandemic.”

Barclays first announced it would be closing its Middleton Street office in May. They cited a decline over the last two years of counter transactions as one of a plethora of reasons for the bank’s withdrawal from town – including research that identified only 130 customers use the branch exclusively for their banking.

They also claimed 75 per cent of Barclays customers locally now use other methods, such as online or on the phone; while over the past 12 months, 35 per cent of Llandrindod customers had been using nearby branches in Builth Wells and Newtown.

Llandrindod county councillors Pete Roberts and Jake Berriman expressed anger at the decision and launched a petition in a desperate last ditch bid to try and keep the branch open.

“The decision to pull out of town is a major concern for residents and traders alike,” Councillor Roberts, who represents the Llandrindod South ward, had said. “For many residents, the suggestion that they should go to Builth or Newtown is not realistic.

Cllr Berriman, who represents the town’s north ward, added: “Llandrindod North has one of the oldest populations in Wales with many reliant on banking services in town.

“To suggest an 80-year-old resident should get a bus to Builth or go online when they don't have an internet connection is frankly an insult.”

Barclays said proposals to close any branch are made by the local leadership teams and verified at a national level ahead of any closure announcement.