Bourne branch of Nottingham Building Society is earmarked for closure

A leading building society has announced the closure of its branch in Bourne.

Bosses of the Nottingham Building Society say the branch in North Street will shut its doors to the public before the end of the year.

The closure is one of 17 that have been announced following a review of the business which was prompted by changing customer behaviour that has been accelerated by the pandemic and now looks set to be permanent.

Among the other branches to close are Stamford, Spalding, March and Melton.

Kathryn Kitson, Head of Branch Network at The Nottingham, said: “Following a thorough review of how our members are using our network, it became clear that we have too many branches for the size of building society that we are.

“Since Covid, whilst some members have returned, many have not, leaving a number of our branches with very low levels of transactions and usage.

"Therefore, we’ve made the hugely difficult decision to close 17 branches in locations where the level of activity in the branch has reached a point where it is no longer sustainable.

“We appreciate this is disappointing news for both the members who use one of the affected branches, and our colleagues who work there.

"However, we have been thorough and considered when making decisions on which branches to close, trying to ensure there are options in place for more vulnerable members and also taking into account the impact on the communities our branches serve.

“The decision to close branches is never one that is taken lightly so our absolute priority is doing all we can to provide the best possible support for all those impacted by these changes.”

She said that although many branches had an alternative branch close by, there were some instances where that was not the case and the Society would work with customers to find alternative support.

Following the closures, the Society’s branch network will consist of 31 branches across seven counties.