Tuesday, March 05, 2019

Forget Brexit: What about the threat to Uppingham's only bank?


The group Uppingham First has lived up to its name in a letter to Theresa May.

It hasn't quite demanded she "puts Brexit on the sidelines to intervene before the last bricks and mortar bank in the town closes on April 26," as the Leicester Mercury says. But it has come close to it.

The paper quotes from the group's letter:
"This is a critical blow to the town’s economy, given that our post office building is already a busy place, does not have mobility impaired access and the nearest Barclays branch is a substantial car or bus journey away. 
"A financial transaction centre of some kind will, however, be vital to the town’s economy and future way of life. 
"We recognise and understand your preoccupation with Brexit and its implications for the country. However, the issue of vanishing small town banks is equally urgent."
It's all a bit Ealing Comedy, but the decline of banks in small towns is a problem.

There is, incidentally, still a branch of the Bank of Rutland in the village at the gates of Bonkers Hall, but I am not sure I can recommend using its cashpoint,

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