Mason Moore & Rupert Jones | 3 December 2022

THE LEADER of Hinckley and Bosworth Borough Council has responded to HSBC’s plans to close in Market Bosworth, stressing that he is “extremely disappointed”.

It comes after the banking giant announced they will close 114 branches, with their Market Bosworth site being affected – and it will close for good on 25 April 2023.

This means that once it closes, Market Bosworth residents will have to make the trip over to Hinckley town centre’s HSBC bank on Station Road – a 16 minute drive away.

According to The Guardian, HSBC have around 15 million UK customers, but they believe footfall in the ‘vast majority’ of their closing branches was reduced by around 50 per cent in the last five years – with some serving less than 250 customers a week.

Jackie Uhi, HSBC’s Managing Director of UK Distribution, added: “People are changing the way they bank and footfall in many branches is at an all-time low, with no signs of it returning. Banking remotely is becoming the norm for the vast majority of us.”

Coun. Stuart Bray, Council Leader for Hinckley and Bosworth Borough Council, has been very vocal about recent past bank branch closures across the borough.

In fact, it was Councillor Bray who encouraged Barclays to keep a presence in town after they permanently closed their Hinckley town centre site last month.

Commenting on HSBC’s plans to close in nearby Market Bosworth, he believes the closure will have ‘detrimental impact’ on residents and businesses.

He said: “I am extremely disappointed to hear that HSBC has decided to close its Market Bosworth branch next year, the one remaining bank in the town, as this will be the loss of yet another high street bank and, of course, local employment.

“It will undoubtedly have a detrimental impact on the residents and businesses of Market Bosworth and surrounding villages who currently bank with them, as they will need to travel further afield to Hinckley if they wish to see someone in a branch.

“We are currently making contact with the bank to enquire if they will work with us to discuss providing alternative banking arrangements in the market town to help residents and local businesses.”