'Disgrace' - Residents fume as Barclays announces major Liverpool branch closure

Barclays is set to shut at least 96 UK bank branches throughout 2024 and 2025 after closing 177 last year and a key bank in Merseyside is among those scheduled to close this spring.

The high street bank announced plans to shut 40 branches last month and has now revealed the locations of a further 22 banks that will close down in 2024.

Among the newly-announced closures is the Allerton Road branch in Mossley Hill. The bank is scheduled to close on May 17 this year, leaving the Liverpool ONE venue on Lord Street as the last-standing branch in Liverpool offering a full range of in-person services.

While Barclays Local units are available in West Derby and Bootle, South Liverpool residents will be forced to travel to the city centre to access resources such as counter and cash services - and they are not happy. One customer told LiverpoolWorld he was 'disgusted' by the closure and would now 'have to pay money to get to the city centre just to access basic bank services'.

Taking to social media to discuss the closure, one local resident said it was a 'disgrace' to make elderly people travel into the city centre, with another adding: "It seems banks want our money now without actually providing a service anymore." Another noted: "Most banks are going. Cashless society here we come!"

Discussing the decision to close a number of neighbourhood branches, a Barclays spokesperson said visits to branches 'continue to fall' and the business needs 'to adapt to provide the best service for all our customers'.

They continued: "​Where there is no longer enough demand to support a branch, we maintain an in-person presence through our Barclays Local network, live in over 300 locations, based in libraries, town halls, mobile vans and our banking pods. We also support access to cash with our cash-back without purchase service, 24-hour deposit-taking ATMs and by working alongside the Post Office and Cash Access UK.”

However, some customers of the Allerton Road branch disagree with the reason for the closure, with one claiming, 'it's always chocker in there so not like they aren't getting any footfall'.