FLINT Town Councillors have reacted with anger and disappointment over TSB’s decision to close down the last remaining bank in the town.

On Wednesday (May 8) TSB announced that nine of its branches will be closed in May 2025 with another 27 nationally being closed this September.

The Flint branch was one of the nine confirmed to be closing next May, with councillors demanding the town is not turned into a "banking desert". 

This closure will mean that the nearest branch for Flint residents is Wrexham. A journey which is 1 hour 10-minute roundtrip by train or 2-hour 30-minute roundtrip by bus.

Flint Town Councillors have started a petition for residents to sign. It is hoped that if enough people sign the petition the town can show how much having access to a bank means to everyone.

Mayor of Flint, Councillor Ben Goldsborough, said: “Flint has one bank left and the decision by TSB to close their branch is a slap in the face for residents who have been loyal to them for years.

"Our town will become a banking desert. Hitting those who don’t use online banking the hardest and ensuring that local businesses have to work even harder to bring people into our wonderful town.

"TSB have got this badly wrong and must make sure we have a banking hub for residents.”

Cllr Michelle Perfect, leader of Flint Town Council, said: “As someone who has banked with the TSB in Flint for over 30 years this news has come as a massive shock to me, as I’m sure it will have done to the many Flint residents who bank there. 

"To find out on social media is unacceptable. Our town now has no bank on its high street: this is another massive blow to our town. I hope residents will join us in signing this petition to ask for the return of banking services that we so desperately need."

Deputy Mayor of Flint, Cllr Mel Buckley, said: “As someone who doesn’t drive the thought of going to Wrexham for banking isn’t as simple as TSB say it is. It’s not just the time needed to wait for a train or a bus, but the cost people will face in getting access to their own cash. TSB’s decision is wrong and must be reversed.”

A spokesman for TSB said: “The decision to close a branch is never taken lightly, but our customers are now doing most of their banking digitally and we need to move to a better balance of digital and face-to-face services.

“We remain committed to a national branch network and through innovation and integration with video, telephone, digital, branch and other face-to-face services TSB customers have more ways to bank with us than ever before.”

As part of the banks 'branch closure review' TSB said the reasoning for closing the Flint branch was due to "the way customers bank with us is changing."

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The reviews said: "Over 95% of transactions are now being made using mobile, online and other ways to bank, instead of in our branches. 

"And more customers than ever are using our Video and Telephone Banking service.

"We remain committed to face-to-face services across the country, and over 90% of our customers are within a 20 minute drive to a branch, or location of a Money Confidence Expert.

"But we want our services to reflect the current and future needs of our customers and keep open branches that are used the most, so sometimes this means that we have to close some branches."

Councillors will be on Flint Retail Park on  Saturday (May 11) between 11am and 2pm collecting signatures.

If people wish to sign the petition they can do so electronically by visiting: https://chng.it/gPvKJqL4SY.