Ramsgate Town Council has written to the chairman of the HSBC bank to request the closure of the Ramsgate branch this September is reviewed.
The high street branch will shut its door on September 10. It is one of 82 nationwide that faces closure. The nearest branch will then be at Westwood Cross.
The closure follows “a detailed review” and will mean the HSBC branches will be reduced to 511.
HSBC says of the branches selected for closure, 81 are within one mile of a Post Office, where customers can carry out day-to-day transactions, two-thirds are within five miles of another HSBC branch and nine in ten are within 10 miles.
The bank chain says there will be a new format for customers including full service branches, cash service outlets, digital service and pop ups of temporary, movable, local sites.
In the letter to HSBC chairman Stephen Green, Ramsgate Town Council clerk Richard Styles says: “The council requests that the closure be reviewed in order take into account the social circumstances of Ramsgate customers, who may not find it a simple matter to bank online or at the nearest branch at Westwood Cross.
“Ramsgate is one the most deprived coastal communities in the country, and relies heavily on locally based financial services to provide secure employment, and much needed investment capital for new start up SME businesses, that will be needed, when the worst effects of the pandemic have passed.
“The council does have a proposal to offset any economic decline and to encourage entrepreneurial activity, which HSBC could assist with, even if the review we have requested is not undertaken.
“HSBC might like to consider leaving a positive legacy if it does go through with its closure programme.”
A petition against the closure has also been launched by Ramsgate councillor David Green.
He said: “One hundred and twenty Ramsgate residents have signed our petition opposing the HSBC branch closure.
“We now learn that Deal branch is amongst the 82 branches due to close between now and September. HSBC spin is that all staff will be redeployed. Bosses say 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, counter less branches with self-services only and pop-up branches. “Presumably, these changes are on top of the closures. Ramsgate Town Council is talking to HSBC management.
“Meanwhile let’s keep some pressure on by signing the petition and commenting to let the management know our views.”
