TSB Bank is closing a further 70 branches – a quarter of its network – in a move described by campaigners as “yet another hammer blow” to the UK high street. Fourteen months ago TSB had 475 branches, but these latest cuts – following a wave of previous closures in 2020 and this year – mean that by the end of June 2022 this number will have more than halved to 220. TSB is the latest in a line of banks to announce it is slashing its network in response to what it said was a continuing decline in branch use and increasing numbers of customers switching to digital banking – a trend accelerated by the pandemic. Its branches closing next year are spread across the country, from Thurso on the north coast of the Scottish Highlands to Exeter in Devon. TSB said it remained committed to a UK-wide branch network and that, after the cuts, it would still have the 7th largest network in the UK. It added that the branches that were closing conducted about one-third fewer transactions than the TSB national average, and there was a post office or free-to-use ATM within a mile of each affected outlet. A series of branch closures have been announced during the pandemic, with financial institutions insisting customers are spurning traditional counter service in favour of online banking. In October this year, Lloyds Banking Group said it would be closing a further 48 branches, while in September, Virgin Money announced it was shutting 31 outlets for good. In March, Santander revealed it was closing 111. TSB said that in recent years it had seen a significant decrease in branch usage, with the average number of transactions per outlet falling since January 2019 and “no prospect of branch transactions returning to pre-Covid levels”. More than nine in 10 transactions are now carried out digitally. Robin Bulloch, TSB’s chief customer officer, said: “Closing branches is an incredibly difficult decision to take, but we have to respond to the changes in the way people bank and provide the right mix of services for all our customers now and into the future.” He added that the bank had already opened “pop-up” services in 41 locations and a further 10 were now planned. According to the consumer body Which?, banks and building societies have closed or announced the closure of about 4,300 branches since January 2015, not including the latest announcement. Dr Jackie Mulligan, the founder of ShopLocalOnline.org and one of the government-commissioned High Streets Task Force experts, said: “This news is yet another hammer blow to the UK high street, which is already reeling after nearly two years of pain.” Mulligan added: “The shift online is irreversible, but so, too, is the damage that a bank leaving a high street can cause for the shops that surround it. Local high-street shops need their local communities more than ever, and the gradual retreat of banks, which bring all-important footfall, poses another existential threat.” The TSB branches closing next year Aylesbury, 1-3 Market Street – closing on 19 April Bath, 10 Quiet Street – 15 June Bermondsey, 253/255 Southwark Park Road – 27 April Bishop’s Stortford, 3 The Corn Exchange – 26 May Bromley, 58 High Street – 18 May Bury St Edmunds, 8 Guildhall Street – 26 May Camberley, 54 High Street – 5 May Cambridge, 6 St Andrews Street – 20 April Carolgate, 1 Carolgate – 24 May Cleveleys, 77 Victoria Road West – 8 June Colchester, 2 Culver Street West – 31 May Coldside, 101 Strathmartine Road – 13 April Cirencester, 37 Market Place – 14 June Denton, 38 Ashton Road – 17 May Ealing, 31 New Broadway – 5 May Eastbourne, 76 Terminus Road – 17 May Ellon, 36 Bridge Street – 19 April Exeter, 6 High Street – 21 June Forfar, 20 East High Street – 14 April Forres, 156 High Street – 27 April Fort William, 6 Tweedale High Street – 20 April Frodsham, 96 Main Street – 22 June Garston, 6 Speke Road – 9 June Gateshead, 264 High Street – 10 May Gillingham, Sydenham House – 15 June Greenwich, 6 Crescent Arcade – 28 April Harlesden, 58 High Street – 28 April Horsham, Unit 1 – 12 May Kirkintilloch, 4 Alexandra Street – 28 April Lanark, 25 Bannatyne Street – 27 April Longbridge, 1401 Bristol Road South – 28 June Louth, 11-13 Eastgate – 24 May Magdalen Street, 65 Magdalen Street – 28 June Maidstone, 16 High Street – 10 May Market Hill, 17 Market Hill – 16 June Maryport, 109/111 Senhouse Street – 10 May Melton Mowbray, 23-25 High Street – 1 June Morden, 66 London Road – 11 May Morecombe, Lunedale House – 7 June Nelson, 23 Manchester Road – 18 May Newbury, 26 Northbrook Street – 7 June Newton Aycliffe, Unit 3B, Greenwell Road – 3 May Northallerton, 164 High Street – 3 May Ossett, 3 Wesley Street – 17 May Oxford, 17 George Street – 7 June Redcar, 87-89 High Street – 4 May Redditch, 4 Unicorn Hill – 2 June Romford, 3 Stewards Walk – 31 May Ross-On-Wye, 9a Gloucester Road – 22 June Rushden, 133 High Street – 21 April Sherwood, 583 Mansfield Road – 29 June Shrewsbury, 45 High Street – 28 June Solihull, 58 Poplar Road – 1 June Southend-On-Sea, 32 London Road – 2 June Stranraer, 21 Castle Street – 28 April Sutton, 79 Ellamsbridge Road – 26 May Swaffham, 61 Market Place – 24 May Taunton, 34 North Street – 12 April Thornbury, 9 St Mary’s Way – 9 June Thurso, 12/14 Traill Street – 21 April Tunbridge Wells, 62 Mount Pleasant Road – 19 May Uxbridge, 24 Chequers Square – 4 May West End, 68 Baker Street – 4 May Weston-super-Mare, 12 Walliscote Road – 23 June Wilmslow, Emerson Court, Alderley Road – 14 June Wimborne, 5 The Square – 13 April Winsford, 160 High Street – 21 June Woodseats, 1 Abbey Lane – 15 June Worcester, 24 Mealcheapen Street – 21 June Yeovil, King George Street – 12 April