A report by Bradford District Green Party has identified a stark difference in services provided by banks and building societies across Bradford District.
The report, which was authored by community campaigner Matt Edwards, set out to investigate the coverage of banks and building societies across Bradford District and then identify the impact of temporary branch closures on residents.
The report identifies that in normal circumstances, the Keighley constituency is the best served constituency for bank branches with 14 bank and 6 building society branches meaning there is 1 branch for every 4,875 residents.
Bradford South is one of only eight parliamentary constituencies in the country where there is only one bank branch serving the 105,870 residents (Click here for more information). There is only one area in the country – Wentworth and Dearne – which has lost all of its bank branches.
Councillor Martin Love, leader of the Green group on Bradford Council has said: “The coronavirus crisis has forced many of us to change our day to day activities and whilst banking has been identified as a key activity by the UK government, many banks have temporarily closed branches and nearly all have significantly reduced opening hours.
“We can’t escape the reality that more people are choosing to do online banking but physical bank and building society branches are a vital lifeline to many elderly, vulnerable and rural customers. Many self-employed people and SMEs also rely on physical branches to provide cash banking facilities and face to face advice.
“Communities across Bradford South have seen the biggest loss in banking facilities in the district having already lost 75% of the bank branches since 2015. Since 23rd March there hasn’t been a single bank branch open in the entire constituency.”
The full report is available to download here.