Tim Farron reacts to Windermere NatWest closure in May

The Windermere branch of NatWest will officially shut its doors to the public on May 1 as part of the major retail and commercial bank's plans to close 54 in-person sites across the UK. 

The bank said it had seen counter transactions in its buildings reduce by more than half, when comparing figures from October 2019 and October 2024.

But it still comes as a blow to those who prefer to do their banking in-person, with NatWest customers forced to travel as far as Barrow, Kirkby Lonsdale, Kendal or Penrith if they want to visit a branch in Cumbria.

Westmorland and Lonsdale MP Tim Farron said: "The bitterly disappointing news that NatWest in Windermere will be closing means that there won’t be a single bank branch left in Westmorland and Lonsdale outside of Kendal.

"Our local towns of Appleby, Kirkby Stephen, Coniston, Ambleside, Grange-over-Sands, and now Windermere have been totally abandoned by the big banks.

"Communities of thousands of people should be not be forced to travel dozens of miles to access vital local services.

"Over the past year or so we have seen banking hubs open in post offices in Cumbria in Ulverston and Maryport.

"We desperately need banking hubs in Westmorland so that local residents, especially elderly and vulnerable people, have access to face-to-face banking services."

Mayor Christine Hallatsch is a NatWest customer and will be affected by the closure.

She said: "Windermere and Bowness have an aging population. This closure will have a huge impact on older customers many of whom struggle with online banking. While older people could pay bills at the post office, there is a risk it could become overwhelmed as it is so small and already very busy serving the customers of all the other banks that have closed as well as our thousands of tourists. It's going to be horrendous.”

She said it was not just residents of Windermere who will be affected.

“Our bank served customers from as far away as Grasmere and Coniston as all the closer banks have closed already,” she said.

“If you look on a map showing where in Cumbria still has a physical bank they are very few and far between. When there are problems with your account they still want you to go into a branch to sort it out and people will have to take a whole day off work to do that as well as the cost of travel.

There is also the issue of job losses. Working in a bank used to be a good profession and provided jobs in every community now those jobs are gone to overseas call centres and replaced with minimum wage hospitality jobs. Barclays closed its branch three years ago and the building is still empty. HSBC became a fast food outlet.”

She said NatWest needs to ‘rethink its offering particularly to support older customers who need a face to face conversation with their bank.’

Phil Whitely, chief executive officer at Age UK, also shared his concerns on behalf of elderly customers across Cumbria. 

He said: "At Age UK South Cumbria we are concerned that the disappearance of ‘face to face’ banking risks cutting  many of our older people out of an essential service. South Cumbria has one of the highest proportions of older people in the country, as well as being a large rural area. Bank closures could make it difficult if not impossible for many of our older residents to manage their money, which importantly, affects their ability to maintain their independence.

"Because of the geography, people in our area, including Windermere are likely to be hardest hit due to the distances involved in having to go to an alternative location to access a physical bank. Many older people do not manage their money online and so these bank closures do put them at a high risk of digital exclusion.

"As Age UK South Cumbria, we are calling for the protection of physical banking services and we would support the accelerated roll out of shared banking hubs in areas such as Windermere where bank branches are withering on the vine. It is important that such alternative services are set up quickly."