SANTANDER has announced plans to close 111 branches by the end of August in response to the ongoing shift by customers towards mobile and online banking.

The trend has been accelerated by the pandemic, although branch transactions fell by a third over the two years before the virus crisis and declined by a further 50 per cent in 2020, said the banking giant.

Mobile and online transactions have been growing by 20 per cent each year, with almost two thirds of transactions now digital.

Most of the branches being closed are less than three miles from another Santander branch, and the furthest is five miles.

In the North-East just two branches are understood to be affected - Chester-le-Street's branch on Front Street will close on July 8 and Gosforth, in Newcastle, will close on July 29.

The closures will leave a network of 452 branches, while Santander said it expects to find alternative roles for a significant number of staff affected by the announcement.

Adam Bishop, head of branches at Santander, said: “Branch usage by customers has fallen considerably over recent years so we have made the difficult decision to consolidate our presence in areas where we have multiple branches relatively close together.

“We will provide every support to customers of closing branches to find alternative ways to bank with us that best suit their individual needs.

“We are also working alongside our unions to support colleagues through these changes and to find alternative roles for those impacted wherever possible.

“We continue to believe that branches have an important role to play and we expect the size of our network to remain stable for the foreseeable future.”

The Communication Workers Union said it had reached a ground-breaking agreement with Santander on new ways of working which will preserve jobs and avoid compulsory redundancies that would otherwise have been “inevitable”.

National officer Sally Bridge said: “Recent membership surveys have indicated a desire from a large majority of those currently working from home for flexibility to continue after the pandemic, and this agreement achieves that for the majority of employees affected by these changes.

“Ultimately, however, faced with the proposals of site closures and consolidations, the deal we’ve negotiated has avoided compulsory redundancies by giving individuals genuine options, crucially protecting our most vulnerable members for whom dual location arrangements were not suitable on account of their exceptional circumstances.

“Santander deserves credit for recognising its responsibilities to its employees and I hope other employers follow the moral lead the bank has taken in what is likely to be one of the first of many far-reaching corporate readjustments to the post-Covid world of work.”

The full list of branches on the closure list and when they will shut: 

Arnold - 84 Front Street, Arnold NG5 7EJ - August 12, 2021

Ashby-de-la-Zouch - 24 Market Street, Ashby-de-la-Zouch LE65 1AL - July 29, 2021

Ashford Church Road - 30 Church Road, Ashford TW15 2UY - August 5, 2021

Balham High Road - 200 Balham High Road, London SW12 9DH - June 24, 2021

Banstead High Street - 79 High Street, Banstead SM7 2NL - July 1, 2021

Barking - 37 Station Parade, Barking IG11 8EB - August 12, 2021

Beckenham - 212-214 High Street, Beckenham BR3 1EN -  August 12, 2021

Bethnal Green - 450 Bethnal Green Road, Bethnal Green E2 0HG - July 15, 2021

Bingley Main Street - 155 Main Street, Bingley BD16 1AJ - July 1, 2021

Birmingham Erdington - 112 High Street, Erdington B23 6RS - July 29, 2021

Bishopsgate - 224 Bishopsgate, London City EC2M 4AN - June 24, 2021

Blaby - 9 Crossways House, Blaby LE8 4DD - July 1, 2021

Bletchley - 24 The Concourse, Brunel Centre, Bletchley MK2 2DL - July 8, 2021

Bramhall - 3 Woodford Road, Bramhall SK7 1JN - August 5, 2021

Brighouse Commercial Street - 26 Commercial Street, Brighouse HD6 1AQ - July 15, 2021

Brighton London Road - 16 London Road, Brighton BN1 4HY - July 1, 2021

Bristol Bedminster - 95 East Street, Bedminster BS3 4HA - July 29, 2021

Camberwell - 34 Denmark Hill, Camberwell SE5 8RZ -  July 29, 2021

Castleford Carlton Street - 51 Carlton Street, Castleford WF10 1AN - July 29, 2021

Catford - 162 Rushey Green, Catford SE6 4JT - July 8, 2021

Cheadle - 16 High Street, Cheadle SK8 1AJ - July 8, 2021

Chelsea Kings Road - 138 Kings Road, Chelsea SW3 4XB - July 8, 2021

Chester-Le-Street - 57-59 Front Street, Chester-le-Street DH3 3DD - July 8, 2021

Chingford Old Church Road - 35 Old Church Road, Chingford E4 6SJ - July 1, 2021

Chiswick - 336 Chiswick High Road, Chiswick W4 5TL - 15 July 2021

Chorlton-cum-Hardy - 575 Wilbraham Road, Chorlton-cum-Hardy M21 9AB - 8 July 2021

Clifton Whiteladies Road - 107 Whiteladies Road, Bristol BS8 2PB - 15 July 2021

Cobham - 13 High Street, Cobham KT11 3DH - 12 August 2021

Cosham - 81 High Street, Cosham PO6 3BL - 12 August 2021

Coulsdon - 138 Brighton Road, Coulsdon CR5 2XR - 29 July 2021

Dagenham - 247 Heathway, Dagenham RM9 5BG 15 July 2021

Dalkeith - 25-27 High Street, Dalkeith EH22 1LD 22 July 2021

Dalston - 86 Kingsland High Street, Dalston E8 2PG 12 August 2021

Darwen - 10-11 Market Street, Darwen BB3 1DN 12 August 2021

Dewsbury - 12 Northgate, Dewsbury WF13 1DT 12 August 2021

Dudley Merryhill - Merryhill Centre, Dudley DY5 1SY 24 June 2021

Edinburgh Morningside Road - 356 Morningside Road, Edinburgh EH10 4TE 29 July 2021

Enfield Hertford Road - 199 Hertford Road, Enfield EN3 5JH 5 August 2021

Finchley High Road - 760 High Road, Finchley N12 9QH 24 June 2021

Fulham - 421 North End Road, Fulham SW6 1NY 5 August 2021

Glasgow Kilmarnock Road - 110 Kilmarnock Road, Shawlands G41 3NN 8 July 2021

Glasgow Sauchiehall Street - 147 Sauchiehall Street, Glasgow G2 3EW 24 June 2021

Gosforth - 129-131 High Street, Gosforth NE3 1HG 29 July 2021

Grays - 30 High Street, Grays RM17 6LU 29 July 2021

Halesowen - 9 Hagley Street, Halesowen B63 3AS 22 July 2021

Hanover Square - 14a Hanover Square, London W1S 1JL 1 July 2021

Harborne High Street - 182-184 High Street, Harborne B17 9PP 5 August 2021

Harold Hill - 69 Farnham Road, Harold Hill RM3 8XA 22 July 2021

Harpenden - 31a High Street, Harpenden AL5 2RU 22 July 2021

Hatfield - 11 Town Centre, Hatfield AL10 0NY 1 July 2021

Hayes Station Road - 16 Station Road, Hayes UB3 4DY 8 July 2021

Haywards Heath - 37-39 South Road, Haywards Heath RH16 4LQ 1 July 2021

Hempstead Valley - 27 Hempstead Valley Shopping Centre, Gillingham ME7 3PQ 24 June 2021

High Holborn - 306a High Holborn, London WC1V 7JZ 8 July 2021

Hinckley - 6 Castle Street, Hinckley LE10 1DB 29 July 2021

Horsforth - 42 Town Street, Horsforth LS18 4AP 5 August 2021

Hounslow Bath Road - 388 Bath Road, Hounslow TW4 7HT 15 July 2021

Huyton - 57 Derby Road, Huyton L36 9YA 8 July 2021

Hyde Market Place - 11 Market Place, Hyde SK14 2NP 15 July 2021

Leatherhead - 2 High Street, Leatherhead KT22 8HT 12 August 2021

Leeds Crossgates - 59-61 Station Road, Crossgates LS15 8DT 15 July 2021

Leicester Horsefair Street - Permanent House, Horsefair Street, Leicester LE1 5BJ

Leicester Narborough Road - 256 Narborough Road, Leicester LE3 2AP 8 July 2021

Leigh-on-Sea - 85 The Broadway, Leigh-on-Sea SS9 1PN 5 August 2021

Letchworth - 12-14 Central Approach, Letchworth SG6 3DJ 5 August 2021

Leytonstone - 662 High Road, Leytonstone E11 3BD 12 August 2021

London Bridge - 9 Southwark Street, London SE1 1RQ 15 July 2021

Long Eaton - 79 High Street, Long Eaton NG10 1GE 5 August 2021

Lytham Clifton Street - 75 Clifton Street, Lytham St Annes FY8 5ER 22 July 2021

Margate - 110-112 High Street, Margate CT9 1JR 22 July 2021

Marlow - 37 High Street, Marlow SL7 1XA 1 July 2021

Mill Hill - 45 The Broadway, Mill Hill NW7 3DJ 15 July 2021

Moorgate - 48-54 Moorgate, London EC2R 6EJ 1 July 2021

Morecambe - 42 Euston Road, Morecambe LA4 5DD 5 August 2021

Nelson - The Centre, Nelson BB9 9SX 29 July 2021

New Malden - 132 High Street, New Malden KT3 4HY 22 July 2021

Newcastle-under- Lyme - 58 High Street, Newcastle-under-Lyme ST5 1QE 15 July 2021

Norbury - 1424 London Road, Norbury SW16 4EP 1 July 2021

Oadby - 38 The Parade, Oadby LE2 5BF 22 July 2021

Oxford Headington - 116 London Road, Oxford OX3 9AS 12 August 2021

Petts Wood - 97 Queensway, Petts Wood BR5 1SG 5 August 2021

Pinner - 27 Bridge Street, Pinner HA5 3JW 8 July 2021

Plymstock - 9 Dean Hill, Plymstock PL9 9AA 5 August 2021

Poulton-le-Fylde - 18 Market Place, Poulton-le-Fylde FY6 7AS 12 August 2021

Putney - 88-90 Putney High Street, Putney SW15 1RB 29 July 2021

Rickmansworth - 107-109 High Street, Rickmansworth WD3 1EG 1 July 2021

Runcorn - 12 Orchard Walk, Runcorn WA7 2BS 1 July 2021

Sale - 46 School Road, Sale M33 7XE 22 July 2021

Shepherds Bush - 23 Shepherds Bush Green, London W12 8PH 22 July 2021

South Harrow - 285-287 Northolt Road, Harrow HA2 8JS 22 July 2021

Southampton Bitterne Road - 424 Bitterne Road, Southampton SO18 1BS 5 August 2021

Southampton Shirley - 1 Shirley High Street, Southampton SO15 3TE 8 July 2021

Southgate - 6 Chase Side, Southgate N14 5NY 22 July 2021

Strand - 406 Strand, London WC2R 0NE 24 June 2021

Surbiton - 12 Victoria Road, Surbiton KT6 4JW 29 July 2021

Swinton - 143 Chorley Road, Swinton M27 4AE 1 July 2021

Syston - 1262 Melton Road, Syston LE7 2HB 24 June 2021

Twickenham - 1 King Street, Twickenham TW1 3SD 1 July 2021

Upper Edmonton - 163 Fore Street, Upper Edmonton N18 2UX 29 July 2021

Walkden - 33 Bolton Road, Walkden M28 3AX 24 June 2021

Wallasey - 14 Liscard Village, Wallasey CH45 4JW 22 July 2021

Welling - 14 Bellegrove Road, Welling DA16 3PP 22 July 2021

Wembley Preston Road - 223 Preston Road, Wembley HA9 8XD 29 July 2021

West Wickham - 30 High Street, West Wickham BR4 0SN 15 July 2021

West Worthing - 37 Goring Road, Worthing BN12 4AR 15 July 2021

Weybridge - 9 High Street, Weybridge KT13 8ED 15 July 2021

Wibsey - 9 Folly Hall Road, Wibsey BD6 1UL 24 June 2021

Wickford - 18A High Street, Wickford SS12 9AZ 8 July 2021

Windsor - 97 Peascod Road, Windsor SL4 1AZ 5 August 2021

Winton - 330 Wimborne Road, Winton BH9 2HP 22 July 2021

Wokingham - 12 Broad Street, Wokingham RG40 1AB 8 July 2021