THE HALIFAX bank is being criticised for pulling out of Guiseley with the announcement that its Oxford Road branch will close next year.

The branch is one of 22 being shut as part of a national review and it will close on March 5.

In an online statement the bank says it is responding to the changing needs of customers.

“We now have over 13 million of our customers accessing services through Internet Banking and over 9 million using our Mobile Banking app,” it says.

“Branches will remain vital in meeting customers’ needs but we must continually review our network to make sure we have branches in locations where customers need and use them the most.”

It says the decision to close the Guiseley branch followed a careful review.

“We have made the difficult decision to close this branch due to customers using it less often. In addition, the majority of customers are also using alternative ways to bank and we have another branch close by.”

The bank says 67 per cent fewer personal customers use the Guiseley branch than a typical Halifax branch. The nearest alternative is Yeadon.

The move has drawn criticism from Guiseley and Rawdon councillors.

Cllr Graham Latty said: “I am saddened that the potential Halifax closure underlines the low priority Guiseley seems to have in the eyes of these banking giants.

He is concerned that the closure will create particular problems for the area’s many senior citizens who don’t drive, and for whom the trip to the bank would become “a serious and not particularly easy business”.

“Of course the banks really want us all to embrace on-line banking, but we are not all “on-line” and many don’t want to be,” he said.

“The other problem is that the empty premises are starting to end up as pubs or bars, which is not everybody’s cup of tea so to speak.

“Finally I would mention the huge profits they are able to make whilst still having these ‘uneconomic’ branches. A touch of public spirit would not go amiss.”

Cllr Paul Wadsworth said: “I am saddened that yet another well-known name may soon be missing from our well-used local high street. Should the Halifax close, it would leave a number of empty shops on Otley Road – not the image we want our local centres to have. The high street bank is a key service that many local residents, particularly older people, rely on, it is extremely disappointing to hear this news and it is to be hoped that they will re-consider this decision for the good of the local community.”

Guiseley’s MP Stuart Stuart Andrew said: “I was sad to hear that the Halifax Guiseley branch will be closing in March 2018, following a consistent fall in customer numbers. However, a nearby branch remains open in Yeadon and the Post Office in Guiseley offers a range of banking services with convenient opening times.”

Earlier this month Otley and Yeadon councillor Colin Campbell said Aireborough people were being given a “bitter Christmas present” with the planned closure of Yorkshire building society’s Yeadon branch.