New Deer Royal Bank of Scotland branch temporarily reprieved
A village’s only bank has been given a short-term reprieve after the Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) has been forced into a temporary U-turn on plans to axe the branch.
In a response to concerns from Gordon and Buchan MP Harriet Cross, the banking giant revealed it has temporarily postponed the closure of its New Deer branch, which was due to shut on Thursday.
Ms Cross has welcomed the postponement but has written to the bank urging them to take the closure off the table for good to protect vulnerable residents in the village.
The bank’s decision comes amidst concerns over new Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) rules guaranteeing access to cash in communities.
These new regulations, which came into operation on September 18, have seen the company forced to back down temporarily.
Should the closure of the New Deer branch go ahead, residents would face a 30-mile round trip to access their nearest banks in Fraserburgh or Peterhead.
MP Harriet Cross said: “While the future of New Deer’s only bank still hangs in the balance, the fact the closure has been taken off the table for the time being will come as a huge relief to the community, who have understandably been worried about its loss.
“While the way people bank is changing, many elderly and vulnerable customers still rely on having access to a branch on their own doorstep and will be hugely impacted if this closure still goes ahead.
“That is why I have written to RBS urging them to take the New Deer closure off the table completely.
“Rural communities such as New Deer, which have poor mobile and online connections, should not be abandoned, and urgent clarity must now be given on what the next steps are for the branch.
“We have many businesses in key industries such as farming in New Deer which rely on this branch, so any future closure will be damaging to the local economy.”
In a response to Ms Cross, public policy manager at NatWest Group, Thomas Woolhouse, said: “In light of new legislation to further protect free access to cash in our communities, we are working with the FCA and industry to provide further detail on cash services available in your constituency, and to ensure we are supporting customers in locations where our branches are due to close later this year.
“As a result, the Royal Bank of Scotland New Deer branch will remain open for longer until we conclude this work. This means that the branch will no longer close on September 26.
“Our customers are being notified of this change, and from September 26 will still be able to use the branch during its usual opening hours.
“I am conscious that you raised several other questions in your letter around what alternative provisions have been put in place for customers.
“These are currently being reviewed in partnership with Link and once the outcome is known we will be in touch again with a further update.”
