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Manchester Evening News
Manchester Evening News
National
Damon Wilkinson

'There was umpteen of them, now they've all gone': The Greater Manchester town that lost all its banks

The old Halifax building society is now a fried chicken shop. It closed in 2019 despite a petition signed by hundreds of people and a campaign backed by both the local MP and council leader.

The Royal Bank of Scotland shut its doors a year earlier. Since then it's been a takeaway and now it's going to be converted into flats.

Six years ago Radcliffe, a town of 30,000 people, had three banks and a building society. Now there's none left.

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Its last remaining branch - a TSB on Market Place - closed last year. The building at the entrance to the market remains empty, its windows whitewashed.

Radcliffe is the victim of a trend that over the last few years has seen banks and building societies disappear from our high streets at a frightening rate. Since January 2015, a total of 5,233 branches across the UK have been closed, or are scheduled to close, according to Which.

The banks say it's been driven by an huge increase in the use of online banking. Last week NatWest announced it was closing another 43 branches, including in Cheadle and Glossop, saying over the counter transaction had fallen by two thirds since January 2019.

Mother and daughter Jean Muskett and Lynn Charvill banked at most of the branches in Radcliffe at one time or another, changing their accounts as they shut down. Now Lynn, 67, says her nearest branch is six miles away in Bolton.

"I just don't go in now, I do most of it over the phone, or I go to the Post Office" said Lynn. "I had my mortgage with Halifax and when that shut down there was a big campaign, it was all over Facebook, but they shut it anyway.

"They say it's because people are doing it online - I'm not being funny but us old uns' wouldn't have a clue how to do it online. It's a shame because when you go in you get to know them and have a chat.

"It's so sad to see it like this now."

Retired builder Noel McElroy, 84, has lived in Radcliffe for more than 60 years. Stood in the Market Place he points out an Italian restaurant and a karaoke bar that in previous years were both banks.

"At one time there were umpteen banks here," he said. "Now they've all gone. Everything's on the card or on the internet, but I don't even have a mobile phone.

"My generation were raised on cash. You look in your pocket and know how much you've got to spend.

"The problem is the banks all got greedy. I go to Bury and the banks there are like big glass monuments. They don't care about the bread and butter customer any more."

One shopkeeper, who asked not to be named, said the businesses are now forced to help each other if they need change. "We go to bookies sometimes, they're always helpful. We try to help each other out.

"Since covid most people don't carry cash any more. They're not comfortable carrying cash. But you still need change, so I just try to keep hold of it as long as possible now."

Trevor Barcley has owned Pink Florists, opposite the old Halifax on Blackburn Street, for 14 years. He says the there's been a significant drop in customers since the banks left town.

"Halifax said people had stopped using it, but people were in and out of there or they were using the cash machine all day," he said. "Now the footfall's just not there. It's gone down big style because there's nothing to come up here for.

"And there's only one cash machine in the town centre at Bargain Booze and that's going to be demolished, so then the nearest one's at Asda or Tesco Express.

"I used to be at TSB. It was handy just being able to go down there. Now most of it's on the card, so it's not too bad, and if I do need any cash I just go to the Post Office.

"They're trying to move towards a cashless society, but I don't know if that will work for everyone."

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