WHITEHILL Town Council accused Lloyds of not following protocol ahead of the firm’s closure of Bordon’s last bank.

Lloyds, on Camp Road, shut in August, with the bank claiming that it consulted councillors, customers and the community before reaching its decision.

But town-council members said they had received no such correspondence.

Council leader Mark Davison proposed, at a meeting, that the council contact Lloyds for confirmation that the bank followed protocol. “I don’t believe for one minute that they (Lloyds) consulted the community,” he said. “As far as I’m aware no one’s been consulted.”

In March 2015, major high-street banks, consumer groups and the Government signed up to an industry-wide agreement to work with communities to “minimise the impact” of branch closures and put alternative services in place.

The protocol, which the British Bankers Association has agreed to, means banks have to “work with local communities to establish the impact” of losing a branch “prior to its closure”.

The loss of Lloyds was particularly contentious in Bordon as it was the town’s final high-street bank.

Councillor Adam Carew, who serves as a town, district and county councillor, said: “I can’t speak for my district colleagues but I’ve certainly not received anything from them (Lloyds).”

Although he has had assurances from the Whitehill & Bordon Regeneration Company that there will be a bank in the new town centre, that “doesn’t help residents in the here and now”, Mr Carew said. At a full town-council meeting on Monday, September 11, councillors agreed that they could recall no consultatory letters, emails or phone calls from Lloyds in the run up to the closure. Mr Carew said it was “absolutely bizarre” no one had been consulted.

“If our clerk hasn’t heard, if none of us have heard, it begs the question, are they particularly competent?” he wondered.

Councillor Alan Waterhouse agreed that if Lloyds had consulted, it had “not done it in a very sensible way”. “I think it’s quite clear they haven’t followed protocol,” he added.

Although personal banking can be handled at the post office, Mr Davison said small businesses now had to travel out of town to deposit cash. The bank is one of hundreds closing across the country as more customers choosing online banking. But for many a face-to-face service is preferable.

In April the banking group announced the locations of 100 branches it plans to close between July and October, as part of long-term cash-saving measures which will see thousands face redundancy.

As well as Bordon’s Lloyds, Alton’s Halifax branch was due to close on Tuesday this week and Grayshott’s Lloyds is due to close on October 10.

Another curiosity for councillors was how Lloyds came to its conclusion.

Councillor Andy Tree wondered why “the village of Liphook” retained its branch, but the “growing” community of Whitehill and Bordon said farewell to its only bank. He described the decision as “short sighted”.

But Lloyds maintains it ticked all the boxes and said it had contacted East Hampshire MP Damian Hinds, local councillors and a list of community groups, including Age UK. It said that Havant Borough Council was the only consultee to respond with concerns about the closure.

Lloyds has published data collected from customers - 82 per cent of whom are personal bankers, and 18 per cent business. It said that: 29 per cent of personal bankers “only use Bordon branch”; 71 per cent “use Bordon plus other Lloyds Bank branches”; 74 per cent “use branch, online or telephone banking”, and 23 per cent “also use the post office”.

As for business customers, just 13 per cent rely exclusively on the Bordon branch.

A spokesman told the Bordon Herald: “The Lloyds Bank Bordon branch closed on August 1 due to the changing ways customers choose to bank with us, which resulted in customers using the branch less often. We apologise for any inconvenience that this may cause and have informed customers of the closest alternative branch, which is Liphook.

“When the difficult decision to close a branch is made, we adhere to the British Bankers’ Association’s Access to Banking protocol and we proactively engage with all of our customers, local businesses and the wider local community to make sure that they are aware of the alternative ways of accessing their banking in the local area.

“This means we will inform our colleagues about any closure decision first, followed by customers and relevant stakeholders.”