RESIDENTS, traders and business folk in the Breconshire town of Llanwrtyd Wells are facing up to the news of closure at the end of November of the only bank in the area.

The branch, which will force residents to rely on the Post Office located at the town’s Auto Services for their financial transactions, is due to close on November 27 and Barclays community leader, Adrian Davies said: "At the Barclays Llanwrtyd Wells branch, customer usage has declined by 10 per cent in the last year alone and a large proportion of our customers regularly use other nearby branches, which is why we have taken the difficult decision to close the branch on November 27, 2015."

The news of the closure has been described as a major blow to the local economy, said local businessman Paul Newman, the managing director of Llanwrtyd’s largest employer, Charcroft Electronics.

"Our local Post Office does not offer payment by cheque facilities, therefore our nearest facilities are at Builth Wells, which is 13 miles away, making it inaccessible during office hours." Mr Newman told us.

Meanwhile Bernice Benton, who owns the Cerdyn Villa bed and breakfast, in Station Road, Llanwrtyd Wells, with her husband John, said a Facebbok and Twitter campaign (Now Save Our Bank) has been created to fight against the closure plan.

Powys county councillor for Llanwrtyd Wells, Colonel Tim Van-Rees, said: "The town council will meet with Kirsty Williams, AM for Brecon and Radnorshire, as well as representatives of Barclays Banks and members of the community next Tuesday, August 11 in a public meeting following which a campaign to retain the bank will be instigated."

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