RESIDENTS and councillors in Odiham have reacted angrily to the news that the High Street branch of Lloyds Bank will be closing next year.

Last Thursday, Lloyds announced that its Odiham branch would be closing on March 8, 2017, after months of speculation about its fate.

The first to air his displeasure was MP Ranil Jayawardena who expressed his disappointment at the loss of an essential village amenity.

In a statement he said: “I am very disappointed that Lloyds have chosen to take a decision to close the Odiham branch. This follows the recent closure of Barclays in Odiham, even though I know that branches are highly valued, especially by older residents and small business owners who often pop in to manage their finances.

“If their bank accounts are moved to Fleet, this becomes a four-hour return journey by public transport, which is clearly not in the best interests of our community. If local residents want to send a signal to Lloyds that they should keep the Odiham branch open, I’d encourage them to sign my petition.” (www.tellranil.com/campaigns/odiham-bank-closure)

The north east Hampshire MP’s views were shared by the chairman of Odiham Parish Council, Jon Hale.

“I am stunned by Lloyd’s decision to close their Odiham branch next year and hope through our collective efforts we can get them to reverse this.  

“Being our last remaining bank, it provides an essential service for our community and local businesses, as well for the surrounding villages. Having also recently lost our bus service, this is a real blow, especially for those who moved their banking to Lloyds, reassured by their staff that our branch was here to stay.”

Lloyds claim around 73 per cent of their personal customers in Odiham use other branches and other ways to bank such as online and telephone banking, while over 91 per cent use other branches, such as the Fleet branch.

Mr Hale added: “Of course, it’s not just the inconvenience. Lloyds brings a lot of footfall to our High Street - and I fear this decision, if not reversed, will have a wider impact to the businesses who count on this passing trade.

“I must commend our MP Ranil Jayawardena. Having contacted Ranil on the day this was announced to ask for his help, I was reassured that he and his team were already very much on the case and immediately came to Odiham to meet with myself and Hart district councillor Ken Crookes to discuss the situation.  

“I strongly urge all who share our disbelief at this decision by Lloyds, to sign Ranil’s petition. Our county councillor, Jonathan Glen, has also arranged a meeting with Lloyds to request they consider the terrible impact that this decision will have on our local communities.”

Lloyds however say that its decision is justified by the ever-falling number of people using the Odiham branch each year.

The bank claims that personal customers using the branch is going down each year by about 13 per cent and that it only has 25 regular weekly personal and business customers.

In a statement, Lloyds said: “The Odiham branch will close March 8, 2017. We have made the difficult decision to close this branch. This branch has been identified for closure because of the changing way customers choose to bank with us, which has resulted in customers using it less often. 

“The majority of customers also now regularly use alternative branches or use other ways to bank such as online and telephone banking to complete their banking needs.

“We apologise for any inconvenience that this may cause and have informed customers of the closest alternative branches.”

Plans are also in place to help those who use the Odiham branch have a smooth transition to surrounding branches.

“The post office is a short walk away and we will be proactively talking to customers about the service they offer. The nearest free to use ATM is also a short walk away.

“Customers will have their accounts realigned to Fleet which is around six miles away, however, customers are able to manage their account in any branch they choose and there will be no other impact to the way they manage their accounts.”