Local MPs to debate building society's move that affects thousands of people in south-east London
Nationwide Building Society's decision to close all seven branches in south-east London, leaving a population of almost 670,000 without a branch, is to be debated in the House of Commons on Friday.
Nick Raynsford, Labour MP for Greenwich and Woolwich, will lead the debate on the mutual's decision, which will see the closure of its Blackheath, Greenwich, Woolwich, Lewisham, Catford, Peckham and Elephant & Castle (Walworth) branches by the end of May this year.
It means every Nationwide branch in inner south-east London will shut, but the mutual said its branches in the Greater London suburbs of Bromley and Bexley will be unaffected.
Nationwide, which is the UK's third biggest mortgage lender and savings provider with �190bn worth of assets, said the only branch to remain open in the entire SE postcode district will be the Eltham branch. The company has told inner south-east London customers that if they want to visit a branch they must travel to Eltham, Bexleyheath or Bromley.
The debate, "Access to financial services in south east London", will take place in Westminster Hall and will see Raynsford voicing his concerns about the closures directly with a government minister. Labour MPs Heidi Alexander (Lewisham East) and Joan Ruddock (Lewisham Deptford) have confirmed that they will be attending.
Raynsford said: "I was shocked when I heard of Nationwide's decision, and even more so when it became clear that they were indifferent to the concerns of their customers across such a large part of our capital. The idea of there being no Nationwide branch in the whole of Manchester seems absurd, yet Nationwide is denying its branch services to an area with a population much greater than big cities such as Manchester or Sheffield.
"Many of my constituents feel badly betrayed by Nationwide, and I know from Heidi Alexander and Joan Ruddock that their constituents feel the same. People are deeply worried about how they are expected to travel to Eltham or Bromley to visit a branch.
A spokeswoman for Raynsford added that she could not give an exact figure for the number of complaints received but said: "Many residents have contacted Nick, the local councillors and the offices of neighbouring MPs to voice their concerns about this, and Nick will be revealing more in his speech about what constituents have said. Concern has also been voiced on many local blogs."
One constituent from Greenwich told Raynsford: "I find this decision unacceptable. I could stomach closure of my branch, but to close my next nearest six branches as well defies logic."
Nationwide also announced earlier this year it was also shutting branches across north London (Burnt Oak, Hendon, and Kentish Town), in Chorleywood and two of its branches in Swindon (Gorse Hill and Old Town).
The Woolwich closure comes almost four years after the branch opened, when local school children from three schools joined chief executive Graham Beale for the grand unveiling. At the time, Beale said: "The branch is in a central location and is a prime example of the investment and commitment Nationwide has in its branch network." The Woolwich branch manager also added: "All our employees are really looking forward to playing an active part in the local community and welcoming new and existing members to our new branch."
A Nationwide spokesman said: "We recently met with Mr Raynsford to discuss the rationale behind our decision to close branches in the south-east London area. Following an ongoing review of the Nationwide business and its distribution arrangements we made the difficult, but carefully considered, decision to close a number of branches which are no longer economically sustainable.
"We have written to our customers who currently use the affected branches to let them know the decision and to advise them of branches nearby and alternative services. In addition to 700 branches across the UK, we have full service telephone and internet banking and savings offerings. We still have a number of branches in south London and over 100 in Greater London."
But Nick Raynsford added: "How can a building society, with cooperative roots and a supposed commitment to mutual banking, effectively walk away from the whole of the inner south-east London region? Nationwide's current advertisement campaign inviting people to visit a local branch is simply adding insult to injury."
Source: http://www.guardian.co.uk/money/2011/mar/17/nationwide-branch-closures-customers-betrayed
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