Wellington Town Council has expressed 'disappointment' over plans by Lloyds bank to close its Wellington branch.

In a statement issued on Tuesday the council said: “The town council is disappointed with the decision and appreciates the difficulties that this will cause for many people who don’t or can’t use online banking facilities which will include many of the more vulnerable members of our community. Concerns were also raised about the basis on which the decision has been made.

“That said the council welcomes the announcement that a banking hub is to be established in the town, but wants to understand more about how it will work, where it will be sited and seek assurances that it will be established before the Lloyds branch closes.

“Prior to the meeting, and following the closure announcement, the town clerk had already made contact with the delivery director at Cash Access UK, which is the organisation funded by the major banks and building societies to secure access to cash for communities and is tasked with delivering banking hubs across the UK, and their property agent responsible for finding a suitable location for the hub, and invited them to meet with councillors at the earliest opportunity to discuss plans for the hub in the town.

“From those initial discussions we know that they need a minimum space of 850sqft for a hub and we are beginning to look at locations that we might be able to present to them as options.

“The town council is committed to working with and supporting Cash Access UK to deliver a banking hub in the town as quickly as possible.”

Plans by Lloyds to close their Wellington branch by September would see the town left without a high street bank. A new 'banking hub' service, which will be run by Post Office staff, is set to provide a replacement banking service.

In the event the replacement service is not in place by September, Lloyds will delay closure of their Fore Street branch for a further six months.