Plans to close the only remaining bank in Woodhouse are being met with resistance due to concerns about the impact on vulnerable people.
Woodhouse Councillor Willis Marshall has started the campaign to demonstrate the community’s dependence on the branch and reverse this decision by Lloyd’s.
The closure would leave many with no choice but to take long journeys on oftentimes sparse and unreliable public transport routes into central Sheffield.
Coun Marshall said “There’s a lot of elderly people who can’t access the internet to do their banking”
“It’s an hour and a half there on the 52 bus, or there’s the train, but obviously that’s expensive. If you’re very, very lucky and wake up at the crack of dawn and are all right returning at dusk, then it’s a half an hour journey on the 30.
“It just adds yet another building to what is already a struggling town centre that’s just going to be empty, and it just reflects badly on the area.”
Tracey Foley, 60, who has worked across the road from the bank at Davies Family Butchers for 38 years, is worried that all local businesses, including hers, will take a hit after the closure.
“The bank is busy all the time. It’s going to affect all the village, once that’s gone there’s going to be no footfall.”
Catherine Gibson, 51, lives in the area and has Huntington’s disease. She was accompanied, as she most often is on a trip to the bank, by her friend Ms Smith, 65, who herself suffers chronic fatigue.Â
Both Ms Gibson and Ms Smith feel that there’s a human touch that digital banking cannot replicate and is vital for those with disabilities, who may require tailored assistance.
Ms Smith highlighted how for many going to the city centre can be very challenging;
“Anybody who’s got memory difficulties or anything, once you get into the city centre, it doesn’t look the same. I’m only 65. But I sometimes think, oh my God, what was that? It’s not friendly.”
Coun Marshall stated that if the petition fails to save the bank, he’s hopeful it will serve as evidence to support the need for an alternative, like a banking hub, in the area.
Lloyds Bank press office have been contacted for a comment but have not yet made a statement regarding the petition.
