BASILDON and Billericay MP John Baron has spoken up in a bid to try and save some local services for residents as another high street banks announced it was shutting a branch.

John Baron recently met with senior managers of Lloyds Bank regarding the decision to close its Billericay Branch. During the meeting he raised concerns about the impact of the closure on vulnerable residents who may not be able to access online and telephone banking options and may struggle to travel to other local branches.

The Lloyds team agreed to look into John's suggestion of a manned 'pop up' service on a regular basis, in addition to speaking with those customers that regularly use the branch and working with the Post Office. 

Mr Baron said: "Whilst it is disappointing that the Billericay Lloyds branch will be closing, I was pleased that the team took on board the need to ensure access for all and agreed to look into my suggestion of a regular manned 'pop-up' service in Billericay. I look forward to hearing more from them in due course." 

 Sam Moore from Lloyds said: "The Billericay branch is closing as visits have fallen by two thirds in the last five years. I was pleased to meet Mr Baron to discuss the banking options available after the branch closes. We are already contacting our regular customers who use the branch to let them know about the other local banking services which they can use. These include the nearby Post Office and our Basildon branch, phone and online banking."