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MP condemns blow to Ellon as last bank in town announces closure
Gordon MP Richard Thomson has condemned the decision by Bank of Scotland to close their branch in Ellon. The move means the town will no longer have any banks following the decisions by the TSB, Virgin Money/Clydesdale Bank and Royal Bank of Scotland to close their branches in recent times.
Lloyds Banking Group have confirmed the Ellon Branch will close on 10 September citing the growth in people using online banking. The announcement follows the closure last November of the Virgin Money former Clydesdale Bank branch in the town when the bank cited the proximity of the Bank of Scotland cash machine as grounds for not retaining an ATM presence in the town. Today’s announcement states the Bank of Scotland ATM will also be removed.
Commenting, Richard Thomson MP said:
“This news will come as a blow to customers in Ellon and it is disappointing that the fact this is the last bank in the community has apparently been overlooked by those making this decision.
“It is generally accepted that more and more people are doing their banking online and of course that leads to a reduction in footfall at local branches. The question for the banks is how they sustain their business in future when they don’t have a ready-made pool of branch customers and are simply one choice in hundreds online.
“The more fundamental question for the communities losing their banks is what replaces them. We are fortunate in that Ellon still has two Post Offices but for a town this size to have lost four banks in a short space of time, there must now be a very strong case for a shared Banking Hub. This has been adopted in other areas and I’ll be urging that this be adopted for Ellon.”
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