A Moray community has vowed to fight proposals to close the final bank left in its town.
The Bank of Scotland branch in Lossiemouth will close next year as part of cost-saving measures from the firm that will also lead to it pulling out of Keith.
Yesterday, campaigners in the coastal town stressed they were in “fighting mode” in an attempt to keep the doors open.
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Lossiemouth Community Council has already written to the bank to reconsider the decision and has invited representatives to a public meeting next week to listen to concerns from locals.
Vice-chairwoman Carolle Ralph warned that allowing the last bank to close in the town would send the wrong message for people considering moving there.
She said: “We’re very concerned for the business community, many of whom deal predominantly in cash and will have to travel to Elgin to bank it, but also for our older residents. It’s unfair to assume everyone can bank online.
“Lossiemouth is a growing community with two housing developments and hundreds of millions of pounds being spent at the RAF base.
“We want people to think we are a burgeoning community. This is our last bank standing, we can’t just allow it to close.”
The Bank of Scotland has blamed declining footfall for the closure decisions. Figures released by the firm say that 24 customers visit the Lossiemouth branch weekly.
The bank has been the final one in the town since RBS moved out of the town in 2015. The mobile branch has since had its weekly visits cut from two to one.
A report published last year showed that Moray had been worst hit with bank closures in Scotland per head of the population.
Moray MSP Richard Lochhead said: “Banks are deserting Moray’s communities and this is having a real negative impact on the people who rely on them including businesses and vulnerable people.
“Personal banking customers are also affected and now face an expensive round trip to their nearest branch. It’s incumbent on banks to think about their customers.”
The public meeting about the closure will take place in Lossiemouth Town Hall on Saturday, November 24 at 10am.
