A bank branch that is set to permanently shut should stay open to help the area recover after the coronavirus lockdown in lifted, according to local politicians.
Barclays Bank, on Low Street in Sutton-in-Ashfield town centre, announced in February that it will close its doors for good on May 29 - citing an 82 percent fall in its usage.
But two councillors who represent the Central and New Cross ward on Ashfield District Council, where the bank is based, have urged Barclays to reconsider the move.
It comes as other banks, including HSBC, Lloyds and Virgin Money, announced they were temporarily halting job cuts amidst the lockdown.
Councillor David Hennigan says the bank will be "vital" for businesses and residents in the area once lockdown restrictions are lifted.
"I am calling on Barclays Bank to do the same [as other banks], protecting their employees and helping their customers.
"When we go into the recovery phase of the Covid lockdown, it is critical that small businesses meet with bank staff to discuss the help available.
"Let’s face it, the banks were bailed out by the taxpayer in 2008 – it’s time they repaid that and remained as accessible as possible during these challenging times."
Residents and shoppers told Nottinghamshire Live the closure of the bank would be "terrible" for the high street and an "inconvenience" when it was announced.
Councillor Samantha Deakin, who also represents the ward for the Ashfield Independents, agrees with the concerns.
“The closure of Barclays is devastating for Sutton town centre ", she said.
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"It's short-sighted when you consider the hugely ambitious plans we have for our town centre.
"Businesses and the most vulnerable residents have already spoken of the impact that any closures will have.
"I would hope that they would at least pause their plans to assist the coronavirus recovery.”
Adrian Davies, market director for Barclays, says the full closure will still go ahead as planned.
He said: "We are committed to helping customers and have been doing our best to keep branches open for as long as we can during the pandemic, while it is practical and safe to do so.
"However, Covid-19 has had an impact on our customer behaviours and we are seeing significantly less branch visits.
"Our Sutton-in-Ashfield team has been proactively calling vulnerable and branch dependent customers to ensure they are supported.
"The rate of these calls has increased since we took the decision to temporarily close the branch on April 3.
"Before the coronavirus crisis we were already seeing that 84 percent of our regular customers were using alternatives to branch-based banking, and we would anticipate that this figure is now significantly higher.
"Therefore we do not anticipate changing the closure date for this branch, and staff will be moving to roles at other branches.”
