Windermere Building Society branch set for closure

The Yorkshire Building Society's Windermere Branch is set to close under proposals announced today. South Lakes MP Tim Farron is due to meet the Chief Executive later this week, and will urge the building society to reverse this decision.

The Yorkshire Building Society (YBS) is planning on closing 20 branches across the UK, including the one in Windermere. The proposed changes would take effect on 19 May.

There is a YBS agency in Kendal, though customers will have to travel to Lancaster to access a full branch with the complete range of services.

Tim said: "This will be massively disappointing news for local residents. The branch in Windermere serves an area with a high number of elderly people who will simply not be able to transfer to online banking.

"Customers in Windermere may have transferred to YBS after the closure of the HSBC branch earlier this year, only to be hit by another closure. This change would now leave them with a 30-mile trip to Lancaster to access their nearest full branch. Even the YBS agency in Kendal is a long way for residents to come on the bus simply to access their savings.

"I will be urging the YBS to consider the needs of the community they work in, and to scrap this proposal."