HSBC bank announces closure of Cleckheaton branch

Sites will start shutting their doors permanently from April 23.

HSBC said the Covid-19 pandemic has seen a greater shift to online banking, although it insisted the closures were not entirely related to lockdowns and other pandemic restrictions.

Staff in branches facing closure are also expected to be redeployed to other branches and sites within 15 miles of their homes, the bank said.

HSBC said the closures are part of plans to become a market-leading digital bank and an overhaul of how remaining branches will operate.

Of the 82 sites closing, 81 are within a mile of a Post Office, two-thirds are within five miles of another HSBC branch and nine in 10 are within 10 miles, the bank added.

Bosses said the changes will see four distinct branch formats that “best suit customer needs, based on detailed analysis of customer behaviour”.

These include full service branches, cash service branches for customers who need greater access to cash, counterless branches with self-services only and pop-up branches.

Jackie Uhi, HSBC UK’s head of network, said: “By ensuring we have the most suitable branch format in each specific local market that we serve, we will ensure that we are in good shape to meet the challenges ahead.”

Those to close include Merit House and Holderness Road, Hull; Darnall, Sheffield; Chapel Allerton and Cross Gates, Leeds; Cleckheaton; Richmond; Wesley Square, Goole; and Bridge Street, Worksop.