Natwest to close Ossett branch

The branch on Station Road is expected to shut on Tuesday, October 20.

The bank said the number of transactions taking place at the site has dropped by 22 per cent since 2001 and only 88 customers now use it on a weekly basis.

And the staff working at the site will be redeployed at other branches in the area.

A deal has been struck that once the branch closes customers will be able to check their balance, deposit and withdraw funds, and business customers can get coinage at post offices in the town.

But Wakefield MP Mary Creagh has asked for a meeting with the bank’s management to try and save the branch from closing.

A Natwest spokesman said: “Our customers are increasingly using alternative ways to bank with them such as online and mobile banking.

“We are writing to all of our customers who use the branch, as well as displaying posters in branch to let them know of the closure.

“Between now and the closure date, we will engage with all of our customers, local businesses and the wider community to make sure they are aware of the alternative ways of accessing their banking with us in the local area and to answer any questions they might have.”

Ms Creagh said: “Lots of local people rely on the Ossett Natwest branch and will be disappointed by its closure.

“I have written to the bank calling for the branch to be saved. I have also asked for a meeting with Natwest’s management so I can make the case for the Ossett branch.”

The bank has two other branches within a five mile radius of the Ossett site, including one in Dewsbury.

And it said the closure comes as branch transactions nationwide have declined by around 36 per cent since 2010, due to the growth of online and mobile transactions.