REASONS given for the impending closure of Lampeter’s NatWest Bank are both ‘unfair and unethical’, the town mayor has claimed.

Outlining the town council’s opposition to the planned closure of the branch on 12 June, Cllr Hag Harris said they were disappointed at how it was announced and at the use of a ‘highly misleading’ statistic suggesting it was not being used.

In a letter to NatWest, Cllr Harris said: “It is both unfair and unethical to try to shift the blame for the closure of the branch onto the local community.

“The number of customers who visit at least once a week is not a fair or accurate measure of the use of the service, as the vast majority will have patterns of use which reflect their own business and personal need and will not fit into a standard weekly cycle.”

Cllr Harris forecast that closure would have ‘far-reaching’ implications for both personal and business customers, as well a potentially affecting the general economic health of the town.

“In a rural area such as this, many transactions are made in cash and businesses need easy access to cash to enable them to trade effectively,” he added.

“In order to make deposits into their accounts, businesspeople will now have to make 50-mile round trips to either Carmarthen or Aberystwyth, taking at least two-and-a-half hours, and costing them time and money.”

However, Jon Cooper, NatWest’s managing director for South West and Wales (Personal Banking), ruled out a change of heart.

See this week’s south papers for the full story, available in shops and as a digital edition now