A FURIOUS councillor has called on Glasgow City Council to object to the closure of six TSB branches across the city which will leave Drumchapel without a bank.
Councillor Paul Carey has blasted the decision to shut two bureaus in his ward - Anniesland and Drumchapel - meaning residents will have to travel to one of two West End branches on Byres Road and Dumbarton Road.
The Labour politician has warned the move will hit the city’s poorest hardest, with many residents in the Drumchapel area living below the poverty line.
Cllr Carey said: “I am very concerned at proposals to shut TSB branches in the Drumchapel and Anniesland area, which I represent.
“This will have a very damaging effect on local residents and their access to financial services.
“Many are already living on very low incomes and the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic is making matters much worse. I am particularly concerned at the impact on Drumchapel which has no other bank.
“The level of deprivation in my ward is well above the Scottish average. Drumchapel is one of the worst deprived Scottish Index of Multiple Deprivation (SIMD) data zones in the whole of Scotland.”
The area is listed in the top 5% of most deprived communities in the city, with around 40 per cent of children understood to be classed as living in poverty.
Without the TSB bank, residents will have to rely on around one dozen hole-in-the-wall ATMs for cash.
He added: “I would urge them to look at this again. I have no doubt every part will condemn it and ask the leader of the council to join me in objecting to the closures.”
The calls have been echoed by Conservative Councillor Thomas Kerr.
“Earlier this month when the news was announced I wrote to the Chief Executive of TSB to make the case directly to her about how important these branches are to communities like Drumchapel and Anniesland”, he said.
Glasgow City council leader Cllr Susan Aitken added: “The planned closures are a cause for concern in a number of communities across the city and many councillors are joining parliamentarians to lead campaigns against closures in their local areas.
“The City Government is already engaging with TSB – but I’m happy to see as many colleagues as possible, from across the political spectrum, make the case for retaining these services.”
A TSB spokesman said: “These changes in Glasgow have been driven by significant and sustained changes in customer behaviour.
“Branches earmarked for closure have been selected to ensure 94% of TSB customers in Scotland remain within 20 minutes of a branch.
READ MORE: Labour and SNP Glasgow politicians join fight to save TSB banks
“Customers impacted by these closures have a Post Office or cash machine within half a mile of their existing branch.”
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