THE proposed closure of Llanidloes’ last remaining bank branch could see the local economy “going into terminal decline”, a councillor has warned.

Barclays on Great Oak Street will shut its doors in November despite local politicians receiving assurances in 2015, after Barclays decided to slash opening hours at the branch to three days a week, that the branch was still part of the bank’s plans.

Llanidloes lost its HSBC branch in 2013 and NatWest in 2014.

County councillor Gareth Morgan said that the closure will be fought “tooth and nail.”

“We are going to fight the closure,” he told the Cambrian News.

“This is a very hurtful blow in every sense to the local community and especially the local economy.

“Barclays is the last bank in Llanidloes and so many local businesses have transferred to it in recent years.

“The absence of a bank in town will completely undermine a vital service for local businesses that handle cash.

“I can well imagine the local economy going into terminal decline because of this.”

Cllr Morgan also called on the Welsh Government to step in to solve the issue.

“Banking in my mind needs to provide a full service to rural areas,” he said.

“The Welsh Government needs to take up the initiative and see if it can set up a model that will provide at least one outlet for all the market towns in mid Wales."

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