Sarah Gibson, Liberal Democrat County Council Candidate for Bradford South, has written to signatories of the petition about the closure of the town’s branch of Lloyds Bank. Her letter reads:

"Thank you for supporting our petition to Lloyds Bank protesting at its decision to close the Bradford Branch. There is deep seated concern in the town at the impact the loss of the bank is likely to have. The elderly and our local shops and businesses will be particularly affected.

“In two weeks, 834 signatures were collected, thanks to the support of local shops and businesses and those collecting in the street. This was sent to Lloyds with a letter setting out our concerns about the closure and the failure to consult. I have now received a reply from Lloyds which defends their decision and says that they are ‘presently engaging with elected representatives and businesses in the local area.’

“We understand from the town Mayor, the Chair of BoA Business and the two County Councillors for Bradford that none of them have been consulted about the closure as the letter suggests. This concerns us, so I am again writing to Lloyds to ask what form this consultation is taking.

“We support the efforts of the town council to secure cash machine services in the town centre. We shared a copy of the petition with Town Mayor, Alison Craddock as an indication of the demand for cash machines.

Alison Craddock has met with the manager of the town centre Co-op, shown him the petition and continues to liaise with the store on this matter."

 

Liberal Democrats in Bradford on Avon have launched a petition against the proposed closure of the town’s branch of Lloyds Bank. This will leave the town without a bank and remove the only cash machine in the town centre.

Local Lib Dems, led by prospective County Council candidate Sarah Gibson, collected more than 300 signatures in three hours in the town centre on Saturday morning (January 28).

Sarah Gibson said: “People were literally queueing up to sign because they are so angry. The closure of the Lloyds branch will take away the last cash machine from the town centre. It also means that local businesses will have to do their banking outside the town.

“Lloyds made over £6 billion in profit in the first nine months of 2016. Closing this branch is clearly putting the short-term interests of shareholders before the long-term interests of customers and the community.”

Those signing made comments such as, “you can’t have a town like this without a bank”, “I’m steaming about it”, “it’ll be a nail in the coffin of our local businesses” and “it’s infuriating”.

The Lib Dems will continue collecting signatures for a fortnight, supported by some local shops, before handing the petition to Lloyds. They are also investigating alternatives, including different locations for a cash machine.

Lloyds told its customers by letter on Friday that it had made the decision to close the branch after reviewing how customers use branches in Wiltshire.