Every Santander bank closure in Leeds and Yorkshire as 140 branches set to shut

Santander has announced plans to close branches in Leeds and across Yorkshire as park of changes to its branch network.

The bank intends to shut down 140 branches across the country as it responds to changes in how customers carry out their banking.

These are all the branches closing in Yorkshire in 2019:

Leeds, 77 Street Lane, will close on July 4

Selby, Market Cross, 22 Market Cross Shopping Centre, will close on May 16

Cleethorpes, 43 St Peters Avenue, will close on July 4

Yeadon, 25 High Street, will close on July 25

Otley, 15-17 Kirkgate, will close on May 16

Driffield, 49 Market Place, will close on May 30

Goole, 31 Boothferry Road, will close on June 13

Ripon, 15 Fishergate, will close on June 6

Skipton High Street, 67 High Street, will close on July 18

Wetherby, 41 High Street, will close on May 16

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Santander’s future branch network will be a combination of larger branches offering improved community facilities, and smaller branches using the latest technology to offer customers more convenient access to banking services.

The firm has already consulted its trade unions on the proposed changes and is looking to find alternative roles for the 1,270 colleagues affected where possible. Santander expects to be able to redeploy around a third of those affected and will be closely supporting colleagues over the coming weeks as the consultation process continues.

Susan Allen, head of retail and business banking, said: “The way our customers are choosing to bank with us has changed dramatically in recent years, with more and more customers using online and mobile channels. As a result, we have had to take some very difficult decisions over our less visited branches, and those where we have other branches in close proximity.

“We will support customers of closing branches to find alternative ways to bank with us that best suit their individual needs. We are also working alongside our unions to support colleagues through these changes and to find alternative roles for those impacted wherever possible.

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Santander will support customers of closing branches by offering individual help to find alternative Santander branches and support in accessing digital, telephone and Post Office banking services.

Santander will retain a nationwide network of 614 branches following the proposed changes. All Santander current and business account holders can also bank at their local Post Office branch.

As part of the network changes, 100 Santander branches will be refurbished over the next two years through an investment of £55m. The refurbishments will include a range of changes with a focus on personal service, convenience and community engagement.

Ms Allen added: “We continue to believe that branches have a vital role to play and we will be refurbishing 100 of our branches over the next two years. We are confident that following these changes we will have the right branch network to serve our customers’ changing needs, and we expect the size of our network to remain stable for the foreseeable future.”

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Santander UK is signed up to the Access to Banking Standard, an industry-wide initiative that aims to ensure that where banks close branches they do so responsibly and with consideration of the impact on customers and local communities. Visit www.santander.co.uk/personal/support/ways-to-bank/our-branches for more information.