NatWest will close two more branches in central London by August, leaving it with just one location in the West End.
Councillors have expressed alarm at the potential impact on older communities after the bank announced it would close its stores on Baker Street and Spring Street in Paddington on August 7.
Over 1,350 banks have disappeared from the nation’s high streets in the last two years, with at least 15 set to be shuttered in central London alone.
NatWest is also planning to close sites on Abbey Road, Notting Hill Gate and Finchley Road
In its branch closure notices, NatWest said the decision reflected ‘changing habits’, and claimed that just 10 personal customers used the Baker Street branch weekly in 2023, with just four using the Paddington branch every week in the same period.
In recent years, NatWest have also closed branches in Piccadilly, Edgware Road and on Marylebone High Street.
For both sites, the nearest branch for customers will now be on 250 Regent Street. NatWest says it will also maintain branches in Camden Town and on Tottenham Court Road. But all three alternatives are over a mile away from the present branches.
In a letter to NatWest Councillor Paul Dimoldenberg, who represents Hyde Park Ward, said the move would ‘make life difficult’ for many older and long-standing customers, and also increase the likelihood of businesses having to keep cash on their premises.
He said: ‘The closure of both the Spring Street and Baker Street branches means that, from August, there will be no NatWest branches in Paddington and Marylebone, an important part of the Westminster business district.
‘As far as I can make out there will be just one NatWest branch left in the West End – in Regent Street.
‘Not all residents can access their accounts online and the closure of these two branches will inconvenience many of your older customers.
‘The nearest NatWest branch will be almost two miles away and that will certainly make life difficult for many of your older, long-standing and loyal customers.
‘I urge you to reconsider this decision.’
Westminster Times has contacted NatWest for comment.