Residents are angry and disappointed one of the remaining last two banks in Newquay is earmarked for closure.

Barclays in Chester Road will closing permanently on Friday, October 13 due to a decline in customer visits.

But many of its customers says they still have to queue to bank there and do not believe it is right the branch should shut.

Elderly and business customers in particular rely on the Barclays branch to do their banking.

The inevitable closure will leave Newquay with just Lloyds Bank open after numerous branches have shut in recent years following dwindling customers due to the surge of online banking.

Ashleigh Curtis said: “It such a shame that they are closing it. I hope the staff get redeployed rather than made redundant. 

“We use the branch for our business and today my husband was in a queue for the bank.

“I’m not sure how they justify closing it if there are always queues to go in and use it.

“The mind boggles.

“We will have to move our account as it’s not feasible with a business in Newquay to try and get to Truro to bank especially in the summer.

“The post office has lots of limits that a business in Newquay especially in the summer would hit easily and then your charged for going over it or you can no longer use the post office so have to go into a bank.”

A customer said: “I am angry. 

“Not for myself but for the many who do not use online banking and tech and want a personal banking service. So very sad.”

Another customer said: “There are a lot of people, myself included, who don’t want to do online banking. 

“Surely the queues at Chester Road show that you sometimes just need to speak to a human being.”

Tracey Morgan said: “What a sad state of affairs. 

“I had to change on to them because NatWest closed down.

“Not everyone wants to do online banking or can drive to Truro for banking purposes. “They have blamed us for these closures when it's them pushing us in a direction we really don't want to go down.”

Barclays says it is closing the branch as its customers' behaviour has changed significantly in recent years, with more people choosing to bank online. 

Barclays said it will continue to review its physical sites, including branches, pods and pop-up services. The decision follows Barclays announcing it is shutting 136 bank branches across the country in 2023/24. A Barclays spokesman said: “Back when we opened this branch, visiting us in person was one of the only ways to do your banking. 

“Now, as there are lots of ways to manage your money without even leaving your home, we’re seeing many customers choosing to bank using our app, and Online or Telephone Banking. 

“This has had a big impact on the number of customers coming in to see us. 

“When deciding whether to close this branch, we looked carefully at how it’s been used and how customers are banking in other ways. 

“Ninety per cent of people who use our branch have also banked using the app, online and by phone in 2021.

“Thirteen customers use this branch regularly as the only way to do their banking and 24% of this branch’s customers have used nearby branches in the last 12 months. 

“We’ll be working with the local community to understand the impact of closing this branch. 

“Once we’ve gathered feedback, we’ll publish the results in a booklet called ‘Branch closure feedback’, which people can get from their branch or online at home.barclays/ukbranchclosures.”

Barclays says it will stay in the community and is finalising where it will be based.

A spokesman said: “We want to reassure you that we’re here to help. We’ll stay in your community and you’ll be able to talk to us in person. We’re finalising the details of where we’ll be based, and when, to support you with your banking, and we‘ll share the details locally once confirmed. “We’ll be available to help you with things like day-to-day banking queries and helping you manage your money, though there won’t be access to cash at this site. 

“We’ll also add the location and opening times on our website – just search ‘Barclays branch finder’. 

“Our local leadership teams look at how branches are used before making the decision to close a branch, which is then agreed at national level before we make it public.”

Anyone who has concerns about the closure can telephone Barclays on 03457 3453452, or email Michael Watts, Customer Care Director for South West Counties at [email protected]