A call for Pembrokeshire County Council to review its banking arrangement with Barclays, after the bank announced it was closing its branch in the county town, is to be considered by senior councillors.

Barclays Bank in Haverfordwest, located on the town’s High Street, is to close on May 10.

Councillor Huw Murphy, in a notice of motion to the full Pembrokeshire County Council meeting of March 7, asked the council to review its banking arrangements with Barclays.

He said: “Barclays Bank recently announced that they are closing their last remaining branch in Pembrokeshire in 2024 in what they claim is an effort at ‘rightsizing’ their headcount.

“Therefore, this Notice of Motion is a request that Pembrokeshire County Council review its banking arrangements with Barclays and look towards a new banking arrangement with a bank that still retains a physical footprint and therefore a commitment to the county of Pembrokeshire.

Barclays Bank, Haverfordwest.
Barclays Bank, Haverfordwest. (Picture: Google Street View)

“The loss of many banking facilities within Pembrokeshire over recent years has had a detrimental impact on many town centres such as Tenby, St Davids, Fishguard, Milford Haven, Narberth, Newport and Pembroke and Pembroke Dock and will soon impact Haverfordwest with the loss of Barclays bank to the town.

“The loss of these banks not only impacts upon town centres and businesses but also disproportionately impacts the elderly who are less likely to embrace on-line banking options and also results in the loss of well-paid and secure employment in a county that can ill afford to lose such jobs and career opportunities for our young who may wish to enter a career in the banking/finance industry without having to re-locate out of Pembrokeshire.”

At the March 7 meeting, members agreed the matter be referred to the county council’s Cabinet for consideration at a later date.

After the Haverfordwest closure was announced, a spokesperson for the bank said that the Haverfordwest branch only had 32 regular customers who used the branch exclusively for their banking and do not interact with Barclays in any other way.

They added that less than 10 per cent of transactions now take place inside a branch.