A petition has been launched to stop the closure of Barclays Bank in Brentford High Street.

A notice in the bank warns customers that the branch will close in June.

Local community group Brentford Voice has organised a petition to save the bank.

With the demolition of the Nat West Bank and no Post Office, the closure would mean no banks and ATMs in the high street, other than in some shops.

Brentford Voice said: "Brentford Voice expects Barclays Bank to acknowledge their social and economic responsibility to the community, individuals and businesses in Brentford, and to reconsider the intended branch closure.

"The closure would be a devastating blow and it would leave our community with neither a bank nor a post office.

"The nearest Barclays branches, and branches of any other bank, would be at Ealing Broadway, Hounslow High Street, Chiswick High Road, and Richmond town centre.

"Many in our community, including the most vulnerable, have no access to online banking facilities and they would find it very difficult indeed to conduct their affairs at other bank branches.

"During the current Covid crisis it is particularly inappropriate to require customers to travel considerable distances, often by public transport.

"In recent years, Brentford has experienced very considerable increases in population and this growth will accelerate in the coming few years.

"We would suggest that the imminent closure of this branch is entirely inappropriate and may, in the fullness of time, be regarded as a very poor business decision."

Barclays say the reason they are closing the branch is due to the number of counter transactions going down in the previous 24 months, and additionally 90% of customers using other ways to do their banking such as online and by telephone

It says customers using other ways to do their banking has increased by 12% since 2015 and that in the past 12 months, 34% of this branch's customers have been using nearby branches

The bank added: "We identified that only 93 customers use this branch exclusively for their banking."

Local people have been commenting on the closure. One person wrote: "Another hole in the community support - Brentford High Street is currently being destroyed!"

Another said: "Brentford is supposed to be regenerating. It needs at least one bank."

The petition can be found here

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