Scarborough bank to close its doors

It follows the closure in recent years of the area’s HSBC and Barclays branches.

A spokesman for Lloyds which has occupied the landmark building in Falsgrave Road next to The Ship Inn for generations, confirmed that it would be closing in June, leaving the bank with one branch in St Nicholas Street.

Chamber of Trade President, Cllr Janet Jefferson, said the closure was a tough blow to Falsgrave businesses and residents.

“It has been a well-used bank mainly because people were able to use banking facilities without going into the town centre.

“I fear it could affect the footfall in Falsgrave because people will have to use the town centre branches of the banks.”

In addition, said Cllr Jefferson, the Lloyds branch was good for businesses paying in significant sums of money because they were able to park on the bank’s forecourt from a security point of view.

A spokesman for Lloyds Bank told Scarborough News: “We have made the decision to close our Falsgrave Road branch in Scarborough in June. This is because we have another branch close by that allows us to serve the local area. In addition, the property lease on this branch is due to expire which has contributed to the decision of which branch will close.

“We apologise for any inconvenience that this may cause, and have informed customers of the closest alternative branch, which is on St Nicholas Street, less than a mile away.”

She added: “We have seen counter transactions reduce by 24 per cent over the past 12 months and only 19 customers, personal and business, use the branch on a regular weekly basis.

“Ninety-four per cent of customers that use our Falsgrave Road branch already use alternative Lloyds Bank branches.”