Newcastle Building Society has announced plans to move its Middlesbrough branch to a larger and more prominent location.
As part of our ongoing multi-million-pound investment into maintaining face-to-face financial services in our region, we’ve signed a 10-year lease on a new location on Linthorpe Road in Middlesbrough town centre.
The new branch is less than a minute’s walk from our current location and is scheduled to open in early December. An updated look and feel will give customers a modern, user-friendly environment and even better access to services, information and advice. As well as improved meeting spaces, the new branch will also have a free-to-use community space for local charities and community groups.
We currently have 15 community rooms across our network of branches, which are well-used for a range of activities and meetings including ‘knit and natter’, training and skills workshops, and even ukulele practice. They are just one of the ways we are working to support the local communities we serve and give people a reason to visit their local high streets.
Our existing branch, further up Linthorpe Road, will remain open for customers to use as normal until the new branch is ready.
Across the UK, more than 6,100 bank branches have closed since January 2015. Despite this national trend, we’re continuing to invest in, increase, and improve our branch network. Most recently, we opened our 32nd branch in Pickering, North Yorkshire, after the last bank in town announced it would be closing in early 2025. And earlier in the year, we opened our fifth community partnership branch in North Shields in partnership with YMCA North Tyneside.
Michael Conville, our Chief Customer Officer
“The relocation and investment into our Middlesbrough branch follows hot on the heels of the opening of our new Pickering and North Shields branches earlier this year, and we can’t wait to welcome our members in to use our facilities. The trend of bank branch closures continues to cause problems in our communities, putting people at risk of financial exclusion. Time and again, customers tell us how worried they are about branch closures, and how unhappy they are at the additional time and cost of travelling further to visit their branch, and attempts by banks to push them to manage their money solely online."
Our commitment to maintaining face-to-face financial services in our region has seen our branch savings balance grow faster than the market average.
Michael continues: “We believe high streets are always better with branches, and we’re continuing to invest in our branch network by moving to a bigger and better location in Middlesbrough. We know there are times when only a branch will do, and we understand the reassurance that comes with being able to pop into a local branch. We’re seeing the evidence that this is what our communities want as people vote with their feet and both savings balances and our customer numbers continue to grow.”
Future branch plans include the creation of a new flagship community branch in our home city of Newcastle beside the iconic Monument, as well as plans for a 33rd branch in Tynemouth library in partnership with North Tyneside Council.
Download the press release (PDF, 151kB).
