Barclays Bank to close Pembroke Dock branch in February

The Dimond Street branch has seen customer numbers drop by 20 per cent since 2008, Barclays said.

The nearby Pembroke branch, two miles away, will stay open.

Mervyn Owen, Barclays community leader for the region said the five staff at Pembroke Dock will be given the opportunity to work at an alternative branch.

He added: “The way customers undertake their banking is changing as people increasingly use online, telephone and mobile devices. In response to this change in customer behaviour we must evolve our business to meet their needs.

“At Pembroke Dock branch, customer usage has declined by 20 per cent since 2008 and 68 per cent of customers now regularly use alternative branches, which is why we have taken the difficult decision to close the branch on February 27.”

Bank customers will still be able to make everyday transactions at the nearby Dimond Street post office, Barclays added.

Pembroke Dock councillor Peter Kraus said: “I’ve always said in the past if you don’t use it you’ll lose it.

“It’s going to be a sad thing, on that street there will be four or five businesses closed down.

“It seems that Pembroke’s getting everything and Pembroke Dock’s not.”

Member of the town’s chamber of trade Trevor Collins, the managing partner of nearby Modern Print & Design, expressed his surprise.

“I’m very disappointed that it’s closing down, it’s going to have an adverse effect on the town.

“They’ve just refurbished it in the last 18 months, that’s a lot of money wasted; I genuinely thought the branch was safe because of the money spent on it.”

He added: “There’s plenty of parking near the Pembroke Dock branch; instead there’s now the Pembroke branch, which is difficult to park outside.

“It’s bound to cost them business.”

Steve Canton, of Waterloo, who has used the bank for the last 10 years, described the closure as “disgusting,” adding: “It’s just easier to go in there; there was always a friendly face in the branch.”