Residents in a north village will get the chance to air their views with staff about recent changes made to banking services at a public drop-in session later this week.
The Bank of Scotland’s (BoS) Bonar Bridge branch is now closed on Fridays, leaving only a Tuesday service, from 10am-3pm. BoS cut the hours due to lower demand with customers using online banking.
The bank has no ATM and the village’s only machine is in the Kyle Bakery on the main street. The nearest bank with an ATM is in Lairg – 11 miles away – but this branch only opens Mondays and Thursdays.
Thursday’s session will be attended by BoS representatives and police, who will offer advice about how to use online banking.
Campaigner Michael Baird has billed Thursday’s meeting as “a last ditch attempt” to reinstate the two-day service and what he believes may be a progression towards a branch closure.
He added: “There are people who have difficulties banking here who have not come out of the woodwork – people that the bank needs to hear from. It’s important that they come and make their voices heard.”
A BoS spokeswoman said: “Bank of Scotland is committed to supporting communities across Scotland. We continue to work hard to respond to the changing needs of our customers and look forward to sending a team of representatives to this week’s event.”
The drop-in session will take place between 11am and 3pm on Thursday in Bonar Bridge Hall.
