Haywards Heath branch among more than 100 axed by bank

Santander’s South Road branch is due to close on July 1 this year, the bank announced today.

Across the UK 111 branches are shutting after a review.

Adam Bishop, head of branches, said: “Branch usage by customers has fallen considerably over recent years so we have made the difficult decision to consolidate our presence in areas where we have multiple branches relatively close together.

“The majority of the closing branches are within three miles of another branch and the furthest is five miles away.”

Santander said 88 per cent of customers using the branch are also using additional ways to bank - 42 per cent use a different branch and 76 per cent use online, mobile or telephone banking.

Adam added: “We will provide every support to customers of closing branches to find alternative ways to bank with us that best suit their individual needs. We are also working alongside our unions to support colleagues through these changes and to find alternative roles for those impacted wherever possible. We continue to believe that branches have an important role to play and we expect the size of our network to remain stable for the foreseeable future.”

He said Santander is committed to supporting customers and responding to changes in the way customers want to access services.

The nearest branch is in Church Road, Burgess Hill – a four mile car drive.

The nearest Post Office is in South Road, Haywards Heath and there are Halifax and HSBC cash machines in South Road.