Call for Gainsborough hub to stop 20-mile trips to banks

Major banks are increasingly closing branches, with more than 6,000 having shut since 2015, as more users move online.

Banking hubs are shared spaces to ensure that in-person banking options remain for those who need them.

A hub recently opened in Market Rasen and has become “an essential part of the community.”

West Lindsey councillors unanimously backed a motion to explore a similar option in Gainsborough at a full council meeting on Monday, January 27.

Gainsborough Councillor Mandy Snee (Lib Dem) said: “While many people are comfortable and able to bank online, some, often the older generation, still rely on banking in person.

“The worrying trend of closing bank branches means people having to travel substantial distances when many are in poor health, unable to drive and therefore having to rely on disjointed public transport links or friends and relatives.

“The Market Rasen area recently opened a banking hub in a centrally located building.

“This banking hub is already proving to be an essential part of the community.”

“With this in mind, I ask the chief executive on behalf of the council to consider as part of the wider marketplace regeneration, a review of the banking facilities available in the Gainsborough and surrounding areas and provide a report to Corporate Policy and Resources Committee by November 2025 on whether or not a banking hub similar to that in Market Rasen is necessary and deliverable.”

Coun Matt Boles, who seconded the motion, said: “One of the reasons I was happy to support the motion was the comments around the review of banking facilities available in Gainsborough.

“We know we have got banks and building societies, but when we look at this a bit more wider, we always talk about residents who can't get into the banks and do this and do that.

“I have a lot of comments from local businesses in Gainsborough who struggle to operate because, yes, there might be banks in Gainsborough, but they do not provide the facilities that they need for their business, so they are still having to travel out of town.

“I'm pleased that the motion covers that wider aspect and would encourage us when we are doing this to consider the banking needs of businesses in Gainsborough as well.”

Coun Lesley Rollings (Lib Dem) said: “There are quite a few suitable locations for this.

“Many people use banks which are no longer in Gainsborough, meaning they have to travel to Scunthorpe or Lincoln.”

Coun Ian Fleetwood (Con) said it could be “a heck of a distance” between the different branches of a bank.

Natwest announced last week that it was closing five branches including Louth in 2025, saying customers were “using digital banking more than ever before”.