County's only bank branch forced to close as cash-reliant residents express 'huge concerns'

The HSBC branch was scheduled to close in June and a new lease has not been signed for the new centre.

Ron Simpson, director of campaign group Uppingham First, said there was a “huge amount of concern” in the county, both for individuals and businesses.

WATCH NOW: GB News delivers its Don't Kill Cash petition to Downing Street

He told The Telegraph: “The county thrives on its tourism profile in Oakham – the water, the castle, the museum and so on. It’s a lovely place to come to.

“If you look at the impact on the businesses that make up the tourism industry, a lot of them rely on cash in a variety of different ways.”

Rutland, the smallest county in England, is fiercely community-minded.

Many of the businesses in Oakham prefer cash payments but the declining number of bank branches has exerted additional pressure during the cost-of-living crisis.

• Don’t Kill Cash campaign hits massive 300,000 signature goal as GB News to deliver letter to Parliament
  
• GB News victory! Plans unveiled to protect cash just HOURS after our petition handed in to Downing Street
  
• Nigel Farage launches furious attack on Ofcom for investigating GB News' Don't Kill Cash campaign - 'They want a fight!'
  

Matt Lambert, director of upmarket shop Otter Fine Foods, said: “There’s quite an elderly clientele in the area and a lot of them do want to use cash and prefer to use cash.

“When the final branch was to close, there was a thing of, ‘Do we go cashless?’”

Oakham already has a Barclays Local but the site does not accept or supply cash.

It instead aims to retain access to face-to-face banking.

The local Post Office provides some refuge for cash-dependent residents to cash in or withdraw notes.

However, the lease on its building is up for renewal late next year.

An ATM in Uppingham is also available but comes with a £1.25 charge.

An additional three free cash machines remain open to the public.

Alicia Kearns, MP for Rutland & Melton, said the move to cashless is “inevitable”.

“In January I was really worried as HSBC said they were closing in June, and I said, ‘No you are not,’ but they’ve said now, the commitment is, that they will stay until the banking hub is up,” she added.

Kearns continued: “I have never heard a business in Rutland make a funny noise about taking cards, unlike taxi drivers in London.”

A spokesman for HSBC said: “We understand that closing a branch can be difficult for some customers and the wider community, especially when it is the last branch in the area and there is a gap between a branch closing and a new banking hub opening.

“In March we announced that we were pausing the closure of our Oakham branch and a handful of other branches while a banking hub or another LINK recommended solution is being put in place.

“We are actively working with Cash Access UK to ensure continuity of service between our Oakham branch closing and the banking hub opening.”