RESIDENTS and councillors have hit out at the impending closure of another bank in Darwen centre.

Barclays Bank in Church Street is set to close in October following a ‘significant decline’ in customer usage.

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It comes after the Co-operative Bank, HSBC and NatWest have all closed in the town in the past year, which now only leaves Santander and Lloyds as well as the Jubilee Tower Credit Union.

Town and borough councillor John Roberts said the news was ‘very worrying’ and would cause many problems for older residents.

He said: “This is really disappointing, especially on the back of NatWest and the Co-op banks closing. It’s obviously down to more people banking online but that doesn’t help those, mainly older people, who don’t have computer access or can’t work out how to use online banking.

“It’s worrying what is going to happen long term in towns like Darwen.”

Barclays will pull out of the town on October 28, and residents will then have to travel four miles to the nearest branch in Blackburn or carry out simple transactions at the Post Office in The Circus.

Linda Taylor, a resident of the East Rural ward, said: “Darwen is being slowly wiped off the map in my opinion, it’s like it’s the poor cousin of Blackburn. The town seems to be just for nightlife and countless takeaways. Another bank closure is just another nail in the coffin.”

A spokesman for Barclays said: “The way customers undertake their banking is changing as people increasingly use online, telephone and mobile devices.

“We must therefore evolve the shape and size of our branch network in response to changing customer behaviour.

“Customer usage at Darwen branch has significantly declined in recent years, which is why we have taken the difficult decision to close the branch.

“We do not take the decision to close any branch lightly and we are committed to adhering to the new UK Government protocol on branch closures.

“All of our customers will receive a letter and posters will be displayed in branch.

“We will be proactively engaging with local businesses and the wider community to discuss the alternative ways customers will be able to undertake their banking locally.”