Scottish National Party politicians representing the Bridgeton area have expressed their disappointment at news that the local Royal Bank of Scotland branch is set to close.
Local Member of the Scottish Parliament, John Mason and Calton Councillor, Alison Thewliss, said the news was incredibly disappointing and comes at a ‘bizarre time’ when Bridgeton is seeing a lot of investment through the Clyde Gateway programme.
The branch, located at 609 London Road, is scheduled to close on 5th March 2013.
Bridgeton’s MSP, John Mason, commented:
“I am very disappointed with the RBS decision to close their Bridgeton branch. It seems to have been the case for a while that less well-off areas have fewer bank branches and I am concerned that this latest move might not be the last.
“Royal Bank’s decision means we will move from having three of their branches within the constituency down to just two.
“Of course we want to encourage more people to use banks, credit unions and building societies and, whilst I accept that people are increasingly using mobile and internet banking, not everyone has access to online facilities or wants to do their banking that way.
“My understanding is that we will now only have a total of fourteen bank branches left within the constituency which serves over 70,000 people”.
Local SNP Councillor Alison Thewliss, added:
“I am disappointed and angry that RBS are showing such scant regard for their customers. As a result of the financial crisis, of which RBS was a part, people now have less need for banking services than they did a few years ago. It’s completely unfair, however, that local people in Bridgeton who have stuck with RBS are now losing their local branch.”
