After Wick announcement, now Golspie Bank of Scotland will close leaving no Sutherland banks
With Wick’s Bank of Scotland set to close next year, it has just been announced that Sutherland’s last branch will also close in a few months.
Jamie Stone, MP for Caithness, Sutherland and Easter Ross, has called on the Government to intervene after it was announced that the Bank of Scotland branch in Golspie will permanently close in February 2025.
This will be the last remaining bank in Sutherland, after a series of closures.
Commenting, Mr Stone said: “I find it simply unbelievable that the nightmare of bank closures continues, no matter how many people speak up about it.
“These services are imperative to our rural communities in the Highlands - where online banking is not always an option, especially if you are elderly.
“It is high time the Labour Government does what the previous Government did not do – step in and order the UK banks to halt this woeful and shocking decline in public service.
“I will raise this at the first opportunity when the House of Commons returns in October. I will also be writing to the Lloyds Banking Group Manager to ask him to re-think this decision.”
“What’s more, the closure of the branch in Wick signals a problem that extends beyond the context of a single community.
“That is this: banks seem to have completely forgotten that a human face behind a counter is desperately important.
“If someone who has not got access to online banking – or would rather not use it – becomes concerned about a scam or possible fraud associated with their account, they are now left in distress without any help.
“These banks have a duty of service to their customers which cannot be fulfilled without real people. It is as simple as that.”
