A WAVE of bank closures has swept Herefordshire, new studies have confirmed.

Recently released research by Which? has revealed that Herefordshire has experienced an unprecedented loss in the number of banks in the county since 2015.

North Herefordshire has been worst affected, with over 80 per cent of banks closing in the last eight years and only three branches remaining to serve the roughly 86,700 people who live in the constituency, leaving around 28,900 people per branch.

In the past year, the area has lost five banks. Both the Lloyds branch in Bromyard and the Barclays in Ledbury closed their doors, with Leominster’s HSBC, Halifax and Barclays all following suit in 2023.

Hereford and South Herefordshire, by comparison, has fared reasonably well, losing only 38.9 per cent of its banks, with 11 branches still standing.

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Ross-on-Wye has been hit especially hard by closures, losing its Barclays, TSB and HSBC in recent years. The town’s branches of Santander, Lloyds, Nationwide and the Coventry Building Society are all still open however, meaning there are more banks operating in the town than the entirety of North Herefordshire.

A spokesperson for Which? said: “Banks often point to reduced branch visits and increased use of online and mobile banking when justifying branch closures.

“However, there are still plenty of people and small businesses that rely on local banks, who either don't want to or cannot engage with the digital revolution.

“This is particularly challenging in rural areas, where people suffer with poor broadband and mobile coverage, and there are higher populations of elderly customers.”