Ribble Valley Councillors and the Whalley Chamber of Trade have reacted with incredulity to the figures contained in the Document "This branch is closing - but your bank is always open" produced by Barclays Bank justifying the closure of the busy branch in Whalley due to shut its doors for the last time on Friday 04th May, 2018.

The statistics offered by Barclays show a 12% increase in Weekly Counter Transactions and a startling 22% increase in Weekly Cash Deposits by Personal Banking Customers over the last 3 years with just under 300 Customers coming into the Branch when it is open for 6 hours a day over a 4 day period.

Ribble Valley Borough Councillor Ged Mirfin, who represents the neighbouring Ward of Billington and was formerly Chief Data Officer for Business Link North West states, "This portrays a very busy High Street Branch. Correct me if I'm wrong but what Barclays figures show is 75 Personal Banking Customers coming into the Branch on a daily basis or 12.5 per hour - one every 4.8 minutes. I would have thought this was busy enough to keep the branch open. With the expansion that has already taken place and is due to take place in the population in Whalley and the neighbouring villages of Billington and Barrow the branch is only going to get busier. I am concerned for all the local residents who chose to commit to Barclays as the only High Street Bank in the village."

Ken Hind, Leader of Ribble Valley Borough Council echoes Councillor Mirfin's concern. "You can't obtain a mortgage using a cash machine.", he states. "I acknowledge that 71% of the branches customers use neighbouring branches and that 78% use other ways of banking. So do a lot of the population - its convenient to so from different locations or when you're out and about on the move or don't have time to call into the branch. It's part of the modern financial services culture. My worry is those that can't do this. It is important that Barclays recognise the nature of the demographic in Whalley. There are a large and growing number of elderly residents in the village, a number of which have chosen to mobe here to retire - some of which have done so because there are or rather were banking facilities iavailable n the village."

Ribble Valley Borough Councillor Terry Hill who represents Whalley states, "I agree with Ken completely. The number of transactions taking place at the branch almost directly mirrors the increase in the size of the population in the village. Furthermore Whalley is a Service Centre, a fact which was recognised in Ribble Valley's Core Strategy which was signed off by the Secretary of State. This means that all the basic services that one ought to have access to like a GP Surgery, a Bank, a Supermarket and of course a Library are conveniently located in the village. Although residents will be able to use Whalley Post Office for cash deposits and withdrawals, there will be a number who used the branch for more complex transactions (like opening accounts, applying for loans & mortgages, moving money between certain kinds of accounts and trading in stocks and shares) who won't be able to because they either don't have access to technology, struggle to travel further afield or are unfamiliar with telephone banking. I am especially concerned about the large number of elderly residents who will struggle to adjust in the short term. It will take some getting used to. In the meantime we will have a vacant site which at the moment we are unsure what sort of business will move into. It would however make an ideal location, a prime site for a leading High Street Financial Institution keen to move into a thriving village"

John Atherton, the President of the Whalley Chamber of Trade is equally scathing. He states, "There are a large number of local traders that Bank with Barclays. The number of Counter Transactions  by Business Banking Customers has increased by 14% and the number of Cash Transactions by Local Traders by a staggering 24% over the past 3 years. Like Ged I have calculated how busy the branch is. 29.25 Business Banking Customers are coming into the Branch on a daily basis or 4.9 per hour - one every 12.3 minutes. Loss of access to the specialist services that the branch provides to Local Traders will be a real wrench as they will now have to spend valuable time away from their businesses travelling into Clitheroe, Blackburn or Accrington."

John continues, "I'm disappointed that no meeting as yet has taken place between Barclays Bank and the Chamber of Trade when it states quite specifically in The Access to Banking Code produced by the British Bankers Association of which Barclays is a Member that,before the closure of a branch the bank concerned will, "engage with relevant people and organisations in your area to ensure the wider community and their representatives are aware of the closure and aware of the alternative ways to bank after the closure." I am pleased that Local Traders will be able to pay their Cash Deposits in at the Local Post Office, what they won't be able to do is to access change in the form of notes and coins for their businesses because the Post Office do not offer this facility."

Ken Hind states, "It is important to recognise that the increase in the number of Cash Deposits by Local Traders in the Branch on a weekly basis is a sign of the health of the local economy and shows how business have bounced back in Whalley since the floods. I fear that the withdrawal of the branch will leave a big hole as far as local businesses are concerned because it will mean the loss of local knowledge about those businesses through the personal relationships that existed with members of staff. This is why I and a number of Local Councillors have requested Nigel to secure a meeting with Barclays to ask them to explain in more detail their closure decision in light of the figures they themselves have presented as part of the closure consultation process."

Nigel Evans, MP for the Ribble Valley states that, "If the figures Barclays presented showed there was a steady decline in the number of customers using the branch over a long period there might be a justification for closing the bank. In fact the opposite is true. The number of customers using the branch have actually increased. Barclays quite simply don't have a leg to stand on and should commit to keeping the branch open as soon as possible. I have secured a meeting with some Senior Officials of the Bank and I will be putting the points raised to me to them."

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