A councillor has urged Sandbach residents to use the town’s walk-in banking hub – or risk losing it.
The temporary hub on Wesley Avenue offers services to all banking customers regardless of which bank they use, but some customers say they have struggled to find it.
Resident Jean Batchelor told the “Chronicle” that “nobody” could find the banking hub, and that “nobody goes past Wesley Avenue”.
“It’s in an inappropriate place. It’s on a no-through road where there’s no parking, and there’s no advert outside,” Mrs Batchelor said.
“When the banking hub was in the town hall, nobody knew it was there; then they said they were closing it because it wasn’t supported.
“We want to know which banks are there on which day. It would be good if there was a big sign on the end of Bradwall Road so you could see the sign as you went past, because then people would know where it was.”
Despite having opened in August, Mrs Bachelor told the “Chronicle” she had spoken to three people about the banking hub who “didn’t know a thing about it”.
Coun Sam Corcoran said: “Please use it or lose it, it’s a fantastic facility. It’s next to the town council offices on Wesley Avenue.
“There’s a sign outside, and if you go through the door, it’s immediately opposite you as soon as you go in.
“I’ve been in there several times just to chat to the staff, and it’s not being well-used. You can do your banking transactions for any bank there. They will take cash, hand out cash, take cheques for paying in, and do all banking transactions.”
Coun Corcoran said that it did not matter which banking representatives were there on the day, and that residents could use the hub “whoever they bank with”.
The temporary banking hub is run by Cash Access UK, a not-for-profit company funded by major UK banks to protect face-to-face access to cash and basic banking services in communities where local bank branches have closed.
On its website, Cash Access UK said it was “working hard to bring a permanent solution to Sandbach” and that a permanent property search was “underway”.
The counter service at the hub is open Monday to Friday, 9am to 5pm.
Cash Access UK was contacted for comment.
(Photo: Google Maps).
