Call to back Dingwall as Ross-shire county town suffers another banking blow with TSB announcement
A RALLYING call to support Ross-shire's county town in the face of mounting online competition has been made following a second devastating bank closure announcement.
Ironically a significant number of the Dingwall TSB's existing customers had only recently switched from the Clydesdale after it pulled the plug on its presence in the town in June.
The closure of the Tulloch Street branch was described as a "double whammy" for such people by local councillor Graham Mackenzie who acknowledged the "inevitable" impact of falling footfall given recent banking trends.
The closure slated for June 2 next year is amongst 164 announced by the TSB, which will shed 900 jobs.
It leaves the town with half the number of banks it had at the beginning of this year.
David Richardson, the Highland development manager for the Federation of Small Businesses, told the Journal: "The TSB's closure of its Dingwall branch, following only a few months after the Clydesdale's closure, is another blow to this important town at a time when high streets need as much support as they can get.
"Covid-19 has not only made people reluctant to shop, it has accelerated the drive towards online shopping, and if we value the many benefits that high streets bring, including social interaction, we must do everything possible to support them.
"Not only does the TSB's closure mean redundancies and the ending of what to many is a vital service, it also means a reduction in high street footfall and spending, and, quite possibly, an eyesore in the form of another empty unit. Of course more of us use mobile banking for routine transactions, but you can’t deposit cash through an app, and the online option isn’t an option at all in areas with poor connectivity or when IT fails - something that the TSB has itself experienced in recent years."
Community councillor, Andrew Macivor, said: "We have lost two in the last year so not good for our local community."
The TSB cited a growing shift to online banking and said branches earmarked for closure "had been selected to ensure 94 per cent of TSB customers can travel in 20 minutes or less to a branch".
Related: Clydesdale press ahead with closure plans
