'Vital' banking hub opens in Yarm more than two years after closures

Link, the UK’s Cash Access and ATM network, announced in October that the town will be the latest location to get the “lifeline” shared banking space. 

The banking hub will be located at Ashbrookes, 82A High Street and be open from 9am.

It comes more than two years after the town was left with no banks, following the closures of Halifax, HSBC, NatWest, Lloyds Bank, and finally Barclays.

The hub will be made up of a counter service, operated by Post Office employees, where customers of any bank can withdraw and deposit cash and make bill payments. 

Yarm High Street (Image: Terry Blackburn)

There will also be private spaces where customers can speak to community bankers from their own bank for more complicated matters that require specialist knowledge or privacy. 

The banks work on a rotating basis, so there will be staff from different banks available on different days.

Yarm’s recommendation follows a community request from to Link, which determined the town requires additional cash services to support local businesses and banking customers. 

It came after Barclays confirmed it was to close its local service at the Egglescliffe Community Centre - the last physical banking services in the area on December 11, 2024.

Stockton’s Conservative MP Matt Vickers previously argued the loss of all physical banking facilities would impact the town’s older population and High Street businesses that rely on cash. 

He said the case for more services was “not a luxury but a lifeline”. 

There are currently 186 hubs open across the UK (Image: DANIEL HORDON)

Mr Vickers, who has met with Link several times, launched a petition, and raised the issue in the House of Commons, said he was “delighted” about the banks opening.

He said: “I am absolutely delighted that Yarm’s Banking Hub is finally opening its doors.

 "We have been without proper access to cash in Yarm and the surrounding areas for far too long. A Banking Hub is a real game-changer, and we have been working with LINK and Cash Access UK for many months to get this over the line. I look forward to continuing to work with them to find a permanent location for the Hub. 

 "Once again, I want to say a huge thank you to the thousands of local residents who signed the petition, the local businesses who got involved in the campaign, and to local councillor Andrew Sherris for all of his work.

 "I am looking forward to visiting, and I hope the Banking Hub will make access to cash easier for everyone who lives locally.”

 Dr Chris Ashton, chief commercial officer at Link, previously said: “While more people are choosing to bank and pay for things digitally, we know that many people still rely on and choose to use cash and face-to-face banking. 

“There are almost two hundred hubs open across the country and when it opens, the Yarm banking hub will be vital for the local community and high street.”