HSBC, the last High Street bank in Brownhills is set to close on Friday, 25th November 2016. Imagery from Google Streetview.
I’m sad to report that the last High Street Bank bank in Brownhills, HSBC will close for good on Friday, 25th November 2016 – this comes amidst the slump in the use of High Street branches caused by online and telephone banking, and the general woes of the bank in general – HSBC has closed over 100 branches already this year.
Brownhills has previously lost it’s Natwest and Barclays branches for much the same reason.
Many people are upset about this, and I can understand and sympathise; after all this is a body-blow for the town, and will be one less reason for folk to come into our High Street.
Customers are receiving mail notifying them of the closure and users of online banking like reader Sarah (who kindly notified me yesterday evening) are being sent this message:
Brownhills branch is closing
At HSBC we regularly review our branch coverage. In recent years the growth of telephone and online banking has resulted in branches being used a lot less. Therefore, we’ve taken a difficult decision to close our branch at 67 High Street, Brownhills, Walsall WS8 6HJ at 2pm on Friday 25 November 2016.
We’d like to apologise for any inconvenience this may cause you and understand you may have concerns. As you’ve either opened an account at this branch, use it often, live close by or keep items in Safe Keeping there, we wanted to let you know.
Accounts held at Brownhills will be transferred to the HSBC Lichfield branch at 49 Market Street, Lichfield, Staffordshire WS13 6LB. You can however use any HSBC branch. Your account number and sort code won’t change. To find your nearest branch and HSBC cash machine use our branch locator You can also carry out most day-to-day banking using Telephone, Online and Mobile Banking services.
For more information please visit our website hsbc.co.uk/waystobank or any of our branches. You can also use the Post Office to pay in cash or cheques, withdraw money and check your balance for your personal current account.
Go to www.postoffice.co.uk/branchfinder to find your nearest branch.
Whilst I really understand the anger and dismay, I think this is to be expected as usage of High Street counter services has slumped and the banks see their branch network as being a costly overhead.
My sympathies to the staff affected, and my thanks to Andy Dennis and Sarah for the tipoff.
I’ve said this many times, and I’m going to say it again, and it’s never popular. There’s lots of hand-wringing about Brownhills, the state of the High Street and general retail decline: if you value this stuff as I do, we must start to use it, or lose it. This closure is happening because the branch isn’t seeing enough trade.
The same goes for any other commercial operation in Brownhills. It’s all very well moaning that Brownhills was once thriving, and it’s all the fault of Tesco, the Council or whoever, that it isn’t anymore; but businesses close because we don’t use them.
Pubs, grocers, newsagents and all manner of stuff shut here because folk with a choice took the option to shop elsewhere. If we are to preserve and expand upon what we have, we must use it, and not just expect others to.
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Sad, but the sign of the times in the 21st century.People just dont want to walk down the High St anymore.Its become all too easy to do your business over the internet.People want things and they want them now.Personally my life does not revolve around the Internet.I cudnt give a monkeys about Facebook,Twatter and all the other Social Media.Im quite happy living in the 1980s,going into banks and shops and touching things that I want to buy and actually looking at them on the shelf.Progress they call it.Yeah thats fine if you dont mind being monitored in every minute of your life by what you do and where you are.I must sound like a boring old fart but at least I dont get 1000s of emails and offers from Nigeria telling me that some Prince wants to put 10 million pounds in my bank,so long as i give him my bank details .But there is one good thing thats come out of the internet.and thats Brownhills Bob.I always have a read of what Bobs got to say…might not agree with him all the time.but the lads still a good read.Keep up the good work for the folks of Brownhills.All the best Bob
i use the bank every day and have done for the past 30 years .in that time i doni ihink i ever got in without waiting
This bank stands on the site where my great grandmother’s pork butchers shop stood. Maybe this building will get buldozed and something else appear for another 30 years.
What about the elderly that can’t use online banking you didn’t think of that and for not many people going in there that place is always busy and why should I and others have to travel just because of online banking this is unfair all rounds what’s next shut it down in aldrige or walsall
In reference to the last comment about if we want to preserve or expand what we already have. Hopefully with the new housing been built the Highstreet will start to get used more and encourage more businesses other than Costa to open up. I would like to hope one day Ravenscourt has a big make over or knocked down for new shops development. It now nothing but a big eye sore. How can we expect shoppers and businesses to come here when the place is now so run down and out dated? Has for the bank closing it was only a matter of time before it followed suit after the other banks left the highstreet
I too received my letter notifying me of the branch closure which I wasn’t happy about at all. Would love to know what plans the council has in store for Business Improvement and getting businesses to invest in the town again. The probability of another bank coming into town is remote unless the business is there to utilise it. I will probably contact HSBC directly to see why there is nothing on their website about the closure.
Annoyed but not despondent!
Its interesting that they are transferring the Brownhills account to Lichfield and not Aldridge Which is much closer. Watch out Aldridge!
The closure of the last bank in Brownhills is grim news, I have contacted the MP to express my concern. I understand that others have already made their views known to her, perhaps anyone else who would like to challenge this decision would do likewise. It might not work but if enough people make their thoughts known, who knows?