Shoppers have reacted with disappointment at the upcoming closure of one of the last remaining banks in Woodley.
Lloyds Bank in Crockhamwell Road will close on Wednesday, June 17. The closure will mean that Nationwide will be the last remaining bank in the Woodley precinct.
News of the closure has been met with concern by shoppers when they were asked last week.
Shahid Khan said: “We heard that the Lloyds Banks are closing, which is really disappointing, to be honest.
“The only one left now is Nationwide, and all the banks are gone.
“So it is disheartening, really.
“I’d like to see a lot more shops here, because it’s a nice little town. And it’s quite easy access, right, the car parking as well, and it’s great, but the bank closing is really disappointing to be honest.
“If you just want to go to the bank, you have to go to Reading town centre, it’s a nightmare.
“The parking is expensive, and you can’t just leave.
“Here, with the parking, you put in one hour for £1.20. It’s gone up a bit, but still affordable.”
Commenting on the retail offer in the Woodley precinct generally, Mr Khan added: “We live in Reading, but we always come here.
“It’s easier, you know, we’ve got a local meat shop at the HK Superstore as well now, which is quite good.
“We never really go into Reading town centre because it’s just too much hassle.
“I hate driving into the town centre. You never know when you’ll get a ticket, right?
“Then there are the bus lanes, which change so much. It’s just unbelievable.
“But I’ve been coming here for years, and it’s really disappointing to see the shop closing here.”
The Good Home homeware shop is also in the process of closing.
Mr Khan added: “The closure of Good Home and especially the banks, that’s really, really disappointing.
“I’ve been coming to the Lloyd Bank for years, and it’s going, and it’s not going to be convenient.
“But I know nowadays everything’s online and all that, but we still like to have that personal touch.”
Meanwhile, Woodley resident Paul expressed frustration after switching between several banks to get in-person service.
He said: “It’s a shame that my bank’s closing.
“I was with Barclays, they closed, then I went to NatWest, they’ve closed, then I went to Lloyd’s, they’re closing.
“So I think it looks like I’m going to have to go to Nationwide now.
“That’s the only problem with Woodley; it’s the big corporations.
“It’s the banks who have got the money who are pulling out, and I don’t understand it, because they’re the ones with all the money.
“But as a precinct on the whole, you can’t really fault it, can you?”
An assessment into cash access in Woodley was carried out by LINK in February, which concluded that no new or improved cash access services are currently needed.
