Winsford TSB will close in 2022 as bank to axe 70 branches

The announcement comes as more and more customers switch to online banking, with the High Street branch set to close of June 21 next year.

The closures will result in 150 fewer jobs but staff who work at the affected branches will be found new work elsewhere within the bank.

It comes after the high street bank announced plans to cut around 900 jobs and close 164 of its branches in 2020.

Speaking in September last year, the Spanish-owned bank said the cuts were driven by a “significant shift in customer behaviour”, as fewer people use branches and instead favour online banking.

The company, which is based in Edinburgh, had previously said it intended to reduce the size of its branch network but it has now accelerated plans amid the pandemic.

Winsford town mayor, Cllr Nathan Pardoe said local services and particularly bank branches were a lifeline for residents.

He said: "NatWest & TSB can afford to keep branches open and provide local jobs, they're making significant profits.

"The proposed closures are especially insulting to Winsford residents given the private banking sector was bailed out with public money in the 2008 crash.

"I'll be writing to the NatWest & TSB Chief Executives to ask them to keep their Winsford branches open.

"Many residents who need branch banking will not be able to travel to alternative branches, and I hope the companies will reconsider."

Government High Streets Task Force expert and ShopLocalOnline.org founder, Dr Jackie Mulligan also sounded the alarm over the closures.

"This news is yet another hammer blow to the UK high street, which is already reeling after nearly two years of pain," she said.

"The shift online is irreversible, but so, too, is the damage that a bank leaving a high street can cause for the shops that surround it.

"Local high street shops need their local communities more than ever and the gradual retreat of banks, which bring all-important footfall, poses another existential threat."