ANGER has greeted the news that NatWest Bank will be shutting three Wyedean bran­ches next summer.

The closures in Chepstow, Lydney and Ross-on-Wye have been blamed by bank bosses on a huge decline in the number of customers using the branches in the last five years.

But the decision, which follows the closure of

the Monmouth NatWest branch in October, has been described as “horrendous” and a major blow for older people who prefer face-to-face banking, and small shops and businesses.

The Chepstow  branch will close on June 7, the Lydney  branch on June 20 and the Ross-on-Wye  branch on June 27, with bosses saying customer transactions are down by up to 45 per cent since 2012. 

A swathe of recent branch closures saw Barclays pull out of Caldicot and Newent last month, leaving the latter without a bank after Lloyds galloped away last year.

HSBC also pulled out of Caldicot in the summer, while it also shut up shop in Cinderford in January after 95 years in the town.

Lydney town mayor Bob Berryman said: “It’s horrendous – the branch was really busy the other day, with a queue almost out onto the pavement.

“It’s a big blow for the town, and the bank’s customers. As chairman of Bathurst Pool, we have to make large cash payments of hundreds of pounds when it’s busy, but now we’ll now have to look at switching banks.

“I’m going to see if we can get this added to the full town council agenda for next Monday because we need to make representation to the bank, because there are still people who need a local branch.”

Cllr Berryman’s wife Sheila, who is the pool trust’s treasurer, said she has already been to see Lloyds Bank to discuss switching.

“I put the money in the night safe, and I’m definitely looking at switching accounts if that goes,” she said. “People still want to visit the bank – I was in a queue for 20 minutes last week.”

Monmouth Assembly Member Nick Ramsay said he was “very disappointed” by the decision to axe the Chepstow branch – housed in a historic building in Beaufort Square – and will be urging a senior regional representative of NatWest to “put customers first” when he meets him at the Senedd next month.

The AM  said: “We’ve already seen the loss of many branches across the country, but this represents an even greater erosion of banking facilities and could have a knock-on effect on business in the town.”

Ross-on-Wye branch customer Andrew Hotston said: “The staff in there are very helpful – it’s a great shame. The future doesn’t seem to have a human face – just a screen.”

Posters on the Ross-on-Wye Noticeboard Facebook page said staff had told them recently they wouldn’t be closing,

and several customers said they would now be switching banks.

NatWest spokeswoman Gemma Collins said that since 2012, weekly transactions in the NatWest’s Chepstow branch had fallen by 43 per cent, with just 24 customers visiting the branch on a weekly basis.  In Lydney, transactions were down 40 per cent with only 62 customers, while in Ross-on-Wye transactions were down 45 per cent in five years, with only 53 customers.

Customers will be able to pay in money at town post offices, but will face long journeys to their nearest NatWest branch.