Penrith suffered a double blow last week with the news that its Halifax and Lloyds bank branches are to close in the new year.
Both are part of the Lloyds Banking Group, which is also to close its Halifax branch in Whitehaven, with the Penrith branches both set to shut on 19th March.
Lloyds Banking Group said: “With more customers banking digitally, we’ve seen a fall in branch visits.”
They said 288 Lloyds customers use the branch in King Street regularly, with 70 customers said to regularly use the Halifax branch in Middlegate. The company also said that in both cases customers use other branches, the internet, phone or the Post Office to do their banking. Most customers using the branches were aged 55 to 74.
The news comes just weeks after Penrith was commended in the national press for having an impressive range of bank and building society branches on its high street. Commenting on the looming closures, Penrith Chamber of Trade president Stephen Macaulay said: “We have been very fortunate to maintain a high level of choice within our town and many people in the wider area choose Penrith for their banking needs as it’s a convenient alternative to travelling into Carlisle.
“From a town centre perspective, it is rather galling that this news comes in the same week that we have been told of government ‘levelling up’ money being brought to Eden and serves as a reminder that the focus of the funding was supposed to be allocated to town centre infrastructure projects and not for developments in our green belt.
“It’s not all bad news though, coming up to Christ-mas there are a number of new businesses coming to town with the launch of the new Arturo Lounge in New Squares, a new restaurant venture in the long time vacant Magic Bean Café on Poet’s Walk and the former General Wolfe reopening as The Loose Moose, to name a few. We wish them every success in their ventures and hopefully these private enterprises will give the town a boost.”
