The last bank branch left in an Oxfordshire town is set to close within weeks leaving 'an empty hole in the high street' said the deputy mayor.

Barclays has said it will be closing its Chipping Norton branch on July 6 along with 14 other branches. 

TSB closed in the town exactly two years ago, in June 2021, and HSBC and Nat West Bank both closed their branches previously.

It means the nearest Barclays branches for Chippy customers will be in Banbury or Witney.

Deputy Mayor Steve Akers said it was a blow for the town.

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He said: "It will be hugely missed as it is the last bank branch left in Chipping Norton.

"It is yet another facility lost to the town and will leave an empty hole in the high street, something which we as a Town Council are fighting to avoid."

Mr Akers said the impact would be felt by residents, customers and employees. 

He said: "I personally feel the big banks closing branches in the high street is a failed business model.

"People who prefer to bank in person feel the loss the most, but others mourn and object to these closures too. 

"The staff are really sorry to be going.

"They will be transferred to either Banbury or Witney or other branches, and of course wish them well for the future."

He added that the town council is being "pro-active and are exploring other options for maintaining in-person banking services in Chippy.

"For example the TSB has a pop-up bank in the Town Hall," he said.

"We are doing all we can to maintain a vibrant, attractive town centre and especially give our full support to independent traders."

But Susan Marston, 73, a resident of Little Rissington, who uses the Chipping Norton bank said the decision to close was "absolutely ridiculous".

She told our sister paper Cotswold Journal: "There are a lot of people who do not use online or mobile banking and rely on these locations to organise their finances.

"It is not a big location so I cannot believe it costs them a lot to run. I already have to travel around 20 minutes to get to the bank and once this branch closes, I do not know what I am going to do."

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Barclays has said it will retain a presence with a Barclays Local service – a semi-permanent 'pop-up' site where customers can meet a colleague face-to-face for banking support, as they would in a branch.

"We are currently working with the local community to identify a suitable location and will announce details once confirmed," they said.

Barclays has also said that they do not expect any redundancies as a result of the Chipping Norton closure.

Affected customers have been told they can carry out everyday transactions at their nearest Post Office with the closest at Co-op, 4-5 High Street.