THE LAST remaining high street bank in Teignmouth has delayed its closure date to allow more time for a new Banking Hub to open.

Lloyds Bank has told its customers that the branch in Wellington Street will not now shut on April 15 as had been planned.

Bank bosses have pushed the closure back to July 18 by which time it is hoped the proposed hub should be up and running.

In a letter to customers, Lloyds said the decision to keep the branch open longer would allow more time to open the hub.

Once the hub is open, Lloyds says one of its ‘community bankers’ will be operating there one day a week to provide a face to face service for customers.

As yet, there is no confirmed opening date for the Banking Hub nor a location. Teigmouth has proved problematic in finding a suitable building to house the new hub so the organisation responsible, Cash Access UK, is planning a temporary location until a permanent home can be found.

In neighbouring Dawlish, Cash Access UK have said a hub could be open there as early as this summer.

As in Teignmouth, mystery surrounds the location in Dawlish too.

Hubs are being introduced in both towns following the closure of all high street banks.

Cash Access UK is rolling out hubs across the country to towns in a similar position.

One is already open in Brixham, one of 34 across the country which allow customers to withdraw cash, deposit cash and cheques, make balance enquiries and pay utility bills. Counter service is provided by the Post Office.

Each of the main clearing banks are involved in the scheme and community bankers will work in rotation with a different bank available each day of the week, usually provided by banks with the most customers in the area, opening Monday to Friday, 9am to 5pm.

Cash Access UK says the new hubs will ‘provide the community with easy access to cash and banking services’.

A spokesman said: ‘There are a number of steps involved in opening a hub, and finding the right location is often the most time-consuming part of setting one up. We are working hard to find a suitable location and will keep the community updated with progress.’