FEARS have been expressed this week that Lloyds Bank could be using the Covid pandemic as an excuse to close its Wellington branch and leave the town without formal banking services.

Town councillors will discuss the concerns at their monthly meeting on Monday while recognising Lloyds is a private company over which they have little influence.

The issue has been included as an agenda item at the request of town councillor John Thorne, who is also one of Wellington’s two county councillors.

Cllr Thorne said many local people had complained to him about the ’haphazard’ opening and closing in recent weeks of the Wellington branch of the bank in Fore Street.

He said: "I am a Lloyds customer and I have become fed up with going to the bank only to find a notice on the door saying they are closed due to Covid restrictions.

"Last week, I believe they were shut on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday, and they did not even have a notice on the door to inform customers.

"Even the cashpoint in their lobby was unavailable outside of the normal opening hours for several weeks, apparently for the same reasons.

"Lloyds is one of the 20 biggest companies on the Stock Market and they employ 65,000 people in the UK, so I find it hard to believe that they could not find three or four staff from somewhere to keep the Wellington branch open."

Cllr Thorne said as the ’last bank standing’ in the town Lloyds provided a lifeline for many local businesses and residents but he felt they were now being let down.

"I have tried to query the issue with Lloyds via my online banking portal but all I get is an automated response saying because of Government Covid restrictions they are varying their opening hours," said Cllr Thorne.

"Countless numbers of people have moaned about it to me and there is a growing feeling that maybe Lloyds wants to close our branch and they are using Covid as an excuse to test how customers react to not being able to physically interact with them."

Cllr Thorne said the only alternative left for businesses and residents if the branch was to close would be to travel to Rockwell Green to use the sub-Post Office.

"And I think we all know how well that has been going down since we lost the town centre Post Office in the One Stop shop more than two years ago," he said.

"It is not a very practical idea for many people.

"On top of which is the fact the Rockwell Green Post Office is currently up for sale and we do not know if it will be kept open."

Cllr Thorne said he hoped the town council could open a dialogue with Lloyds to understand the bank’s position and hopefully be reassured as to the future of the branch.

"I am sure many of my councillor colleagues will be just as concerned about this issue, which is why I am bringing it to them for discussion next week."