Bank quashes closure rumours

Rumours have been circulating around the town that Lloyds Bank, which has a branch in the High Street, was to shut for good.

But this week the bank moved to quash the rumours.

A spokesperson for the company told the Observer on Wednesday: “I can confirm there are no plans to close the Lloyds Bank branch on Battle High Street.

“In 2011 Lloyds Banking Group committed to keeping the same number of branches in its network for three years.

“We also pledged not to close a branch if it is the last one in a community.

“These commitments run until the end of 2014, and as yet, no decisions have been made about our branch network after this point.

“Branches are at the centre of how we serve customers and will continue to play a vital part in our future plans.”

Rumours about the future of Lloyds had been rife in Battle after another major bank confirmed it would be pulling out of the town in the autumn.

Barclays, also in the High Street, is set to close for good on September 12.

Speaking a fortnight ago, a spokesperson for the bank said the number of customers using the Battle branch had dropped.

Since news of the closure broke, a number of local Barclays customers have told the Observer that they were planning to switch to another bank.