Newcastle Building Society has revealed plans for a new branch in Pickering, restoring access to financial services in the North Yorkshire town.
The new branch is set to open to customers later this year and will be the 32nd in our network.
As well as a full range of branch services, Pickering is set to include a multi-bank kiosk.
The kiosk will enable small businesses and personal customers of any bank to access their accounts, for cash deposit and withdrawal, free of charge.
Find out more about our work with OneBanx.
The new branch will also become the new home of our financial advisers already based in Pickering, who will move from their current advice-only office in town.
Plans for our new Pickering branch come just months after the last bank in town, Barclays, announced they are closing in January 2025, because of falling customer usage and increased preference for digital banking.
Andrew Haigh, our Chief Executive Officer
"Banks continue to close branches across the UK at an alarming rate, turning their back on our high streets. Our approach is very different, with customers at the centre of everything we do, we believe it is our responsibility to find new ways to keep face to face financial services in our communities."
Andrew continues: “Branches help knit their communities together. We want to be there for our customers week in, week out, providing access, support and advice where and when it is needed. The role of a branch extends beyond its physical presence, our colleagues frequently play an active role in supporting local charities, assisting with financial education in schools or helping with initiatives promoting employability.
“This all contributes to a vibrant high street and thriving local economy, and we’re seeing customer numbers increase as more and more people recognise the value of being a member of our building society.”
Across the UK, more than 6,000 bank branches have closed since 2015, at a rate of around 54 each month, forcing customers to travel miles to get to their nearest branch and making it harder for some to manage their money.
We’re proud to be bucking this trend as we continue a multi-year, multi-million-pound investment into our branch network.
Most recently this has included opening branches in several new locations by sharing space with community organisations and helping to restore access to financial services in places where banks have left town.
Learn about our new North Shields community branch
Future plans include creating a new flagship community branch in Newcastle City Centre, as well as our 33rd branch in Tynemouth library in partnership with North Tyneside Council.
Download the press release (PDF, 166kB).
Image caption: A CGI image of what the exterior of our new Pickering branch could look like.
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