by Marie Sharp Local Democracy Reporter
The closure of the TSB branch in North Berwick, will leave just one bank in the coastal town.
In a motion to go before East Lothian Council next week, ward councillor Jeremy Findlay will ask fellow members to condemn the decision to shut the branch in January 2021 – seven months after TSB closed its Dunbar branch in the county.
He acknowledges that the decision is part of a national closure programme which will mean that 164 branches close across the UK, with the loss of 900 jobs.
And he will ask councillors to back the motion statement that: “East Lothian Council believes that this is a short-sighted decision that does not take into account that East Lothian is the second-fastest growing area in Scotland.”
The motion, which is seconded by Councillor Lachlan Bruce, opposition leader, calls on the council’s chief executive to write to the chief executive of TSB to express disappointment at the decision.
It also calls on her to write to the chief executives of all the major banks with branches in East Lothian to request information as to the future of those branches and highlight the importance of branches being kept open and available to communities.
It adds: “East Lothian Council knows that banks offer vital services and that, for many of our most vulnerable citizens, the ability to use those services is harmed when they are unable to access a physical building due to branch closure.”
The Local Democracy Reporting Service (LDRS) is a public service news agency: funded by the BBC, provided by the local news sector, and used by qualifying partners. Local Democracy Reporters cover top-tier local authorities and other public service organisations.
The Local Democracy Reporting Service (LDRS) is a public service news agency. It is funded by the BBC, provided by the local news sector (in Edinburgh that is Reach plc (the publisher behind Edinburgh Live and The Daily Record) and used by many qualifying partners. Local Democracy Reporters cover news about top-tier local authorities and other public service organisations.
