A LLOYDS Bank branch in Worle has closed its doors for the final time. 

The branch, located at 195 High Street, will no longer be serving customers as of today (25 November). 

The closure was first announced in July this year, with the bank citing the fact that “most customers” use online banking as the main reason. 

It’s one of 190 closures of the bank’s branches in 2024 alone.  

But the move has been criticised by locals who fear that it will negatively affect senior members of the community.  

One woman started a petition to prevent the closure of the branch and wrote a letter to the bank’s CEO. 

Jill Leahy said it would negatively impact elderly and disabled people in the local area, who are more likely to be offline, as well as people living in rural areas who may suffer from connectivity issues.  

“I understand the footfall is falling but it’s still a very busy branch,” she said.  

“Some of the customers do not have wi-fi, or internet. I understand times have to move on and we can use the Post Office. 

“The time will come to close the branch but for that area I don’t think that the time has come yet.” 

The bank said it had considered the impact and spoken to local customers. 

“When we announce that a branch is closing, we take a number of factors into account in line with Financial Conduct Authority guidance,” it said.  

“We wrote to customers who use the Worle branch, to let them know it would be closing. 

“We explained about the other ways they can continue to do their banking with us. We displayed a poster in the branch to let customers know it was closing 

“Our colleagues there spoke to customers about other ways to do their banking. These include using our Mobile Banking app, Internet Banking, calling us, or using the Post Office®.” 

The nearest branches after the closure in Worle will be the one in Weston-super-Mare and the one in Clevedon.