The Nationwide Building Society has announced that it is to close its branch in Regent Street in Kingswood on 20th April.
In 2019 Nationwide promised its members hat if there was a branch in their town or city it would still be there until at least 2024 – but with the caveat that “there will always be circumstances that make it impossible to keep a branch open”.
Nationwide now says that unfortunately, that is what’s happened in the case of Kingswood.
Total transactions at the branch have fallen from over 71,000 in April 2015 to 33,286 last February but the day-to-day running costs keep rising.
Nationwide says that 209 “vulnerable members” use the Kingswood branch and 68 members use it “exclusively and frequently”. It will be offering support including proactively calling vulnerable members before and after the closure to ensure they are supported through the change.
Customers are advised that the nearest branches are in Cabot Circus – a 25-minute drive or 22 minutes on the bus – or Yate which is 8.2 miles, 27 minutes by car or almost an hour on the bus. Nationwide also mentions that there is a branch in Westbury-on-Trym.
Nationwide says that the nearest cash machine is Santander at Kings Chase Shopping Centre, as is the nearest Post Office branch.
