As we have recently heard, Barclays Bank in Andover is closing from the 17th May. So I arranged a meeting with them as I had great concerns for our residents, as face to face banking plays an important part in their lives. I asked them different questions. I said that I don’t want to see the economy going out of Andover, as our local businesses rely on this.

Some of the questions that were answered.

Yes it will be a cashless bank, but we will not lose our services, it is not going to be a hub. They are seeking to provide a continued presence in the local Andover community via a new alternative physical location. They are currently in the process of sourcing the right location, and they will advise us where this will be in due course when this has been secured. This sounds very positive for Andover.

I also asked, how and where are the people going to get the support, they replied, people can still come in to see us and they assured me that they will be available to help with any questions or concerns as they will continue to have a presence in Andover. They will also help to set customers up on the banking app. Remember there are also other banks where you can get money from their cash machines.

Immediately I said, what happens if some people do not have a mobile phone and do not have a computer or internet service. Also not everybody is computer literate. I was told their colleagues are currently in the process of reaching out by phone to their most vulnerable customers, this will continue over the coming weeks to ensure they are supporting them with alternative arrangements.

So in the meantime Barclays are very keen to hear what all their customers think.

My other concern was that some places are not disability friendly as some mobility scooters and wheelchairs are not easy to manoeuvre, are they going to support this if they will be based from an alternative location. They have reassured me that this has been taken into consideration, and they are looking into all these issues.