16th July 2023

Burnham-on-Crouch Town Council has agreed, subject to contract, to host local banking services two days a week, in a bid to help residents following the local Barclays branch’s closure in September, 2023.

The item was debated at the Council’s meeting on Tuesday 11 July.

Full details are yet to emerge about the services offered by Barclays Bank at the council, but they are expected to include one-to-one meetings with customers to assist them in non-cash transactions such as opening new accounts, bill payments, transfers, insurance services, etc.

There will be no cash held on site and it is expected the Barclays ATM will be removed. But the Town Council understands that Barclays is in communication with Burnham’s post office to help facilitate local cash transactions. The Town Council will be contacting the Link organisation to see if another ATM can be put in the area – there is already one at One Stop and three others around the town.

An appointments’ booking system is planned – though walk-in customers will also be welcome.

Opening hours are expected to be 9am-4pm on Tuesdays and Thursdays, including a half-hour closure for lunch. There will be no parking facilities at the Town Council, though provision may be made for mobility scooters.

It is expected Barclays will be suggesting that customers who own digital devices, such as phones tablets and laptops, should bring them to their bank appointments at the Town Council, so that trained staff can show them how to bank online for themselves, this as part of a ‘digital inclusion’ programme aimed at a wide range of residents, including the elderly.

Says the Town Mayor, Duncan Rawlinson, ‘the Council wanted to find a way to mitigate the loss of the local Barclays branch. This felt like a good way of doing it, and the new system may well offer a more personal service. Not having to travel to Southend or Chelmsford for example,  to open an account or get banking advice will come as a relief to many local customers. It helps that the Council offices are literally just across the road, Chapel Road, from the existing bank.’