An Aberdeen community held a “last stand” protest yesterday over plans to close their Clydesdale branch.
Plans to close the Clydesdale branch in the Mastrick shopping centre were met with serious concerns from the local community and politicians alike when they were revealed earlier this year.
Bank bosses have told customers the facility will close its doors for good on June 11, and after that date their accounts will be moved to Clydesdale’s Queen’s Cross location.
Customers have also been encouraged to use internet banking.
Yesterday afternoon dozens of residents, led by the Mastrick Sheddocksley and Summerhill Community Council held signs and protested outside the bank in a final effort to try to convince Clydesdale chiefs to keep it open.
Bert Donald, chairman of the community council, said: “A few groups have written letters in and it’s been raised in the Scottish Parliament, but it doesn’t seem to have made any difference to Clydesdale, so this protest is a last stand of sorts for the local community here.
“The people this will impact the worst are older people. We’ll now have to deal with travelling further to get our banking needs sorted, either to Queen’s Cross or the town centre.
“People can sing the praises of internet banking all they want, and that’s fine if you’ve got good computer knowledge, but a lot of older people just don’t have that knowledge.”
Joining residents in the protest were Mastrick councillors from all political persuasions – Labour’s Gordon Graham, Tory John Wheeler and the SNP’s and Ciaran McRae.
Mr Graham said: “It’s extremely disappointing that Clydesdale seems to be sticking to their guns.
“It’s really bad news for older people that depend on this bank, but another major concern I have is for local shops.
“If people won’t be able to withdraw cash, it might have an impact on the income of a lot of the businesses in Mastrick.”
A spokeswoman for Clydesdale said the bank is being shut due to reduced footfall.
She added: “The bank’s first priority is to our customers and we will be working closely with impacted customers and relevant stakeholders to ensure that the transition to their new branch is as smooth as possible.”
