Petition is launched to save village’s last bank
The online petition
A PETITION has been launched in a bid to reverse the decision of a banking giant HSBC to close its branch in Kibworth.
The company announced this week that its branch in High Street will shut from November 23, along with the cashpoint outside, due to what it describes as a ‘dramatic’ drop in footfall.
But angry over the decision to close the last remaining bank in the village, one resident has set up an online petition in a bid to reverse it.
HSBC customer and Kibworth resident Sarah Condon said: “I am very upset about this impending closure. I tested the water yesterday [Tuesday] and was moved by the overwhelming sense of anger and distress people in Kibworth feel. So much so that although closure is probably inevitable, we will not be rolling over and playing dead!”
As well as the online petition, Mrs Condon has set up a Facebook page to fight the decision.
You can also follow her on Twitter @sarah_condon.
“Many elderly people I spoke to are desperately concerned about how they will be able to access their nearest branch at Market Harborough,” said Mrs Condon.
“There is anger from the many local businesses, shops and home workers who do their banking daily, not to mention the many charitable groups, Scouts, Brownies, schools and pub in Kibworth, many of whom opened HSBC accounts because of the branch in our village.
“Bus services are shrinking and not everyone has access to the internet. This is the only bank in Kibworth. Personally, all our family and business banking is with HSBC, and we, like many others I’m sure will be inclined to take their business elsewhere!”
Mark Hemingway, head of UK media relations at HSBC, said usage of the Kibworth branch had fallen significantly in recent years due to the increased popularity of online and telephone banking.
The two members of staff who work there will transfer to other branches and so there will be no redundancies, he said.
“We do need to ensure that our branches are in the right locations for our customers,” he added.
“On occasions this means that we need to close some branches where customer footfall has fallen dramatically.
“Our branch in Kibworth is a case in point. It is currently only open for limited hours during the week and not at weekends.
“We have to ensure that our branches are located in areas where they are actually used.
“We will now be working with the small number of customers who use the branch to help them re-organise their finances ahead of the planned closure.”
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Weather for Market Harborough
Monday 20 May 2013
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