Brentford and Isleworth Become Banking Desert
Closure of Nat West means that there is no bank branch in the area
NatWest’s Isleworth branch. Picture: Google Streetview
July 7, 2023
The last bank in the Brentford or Isleworth is set to close this month leading to anger at the area’s decline into a ‘banking desert’.
Nat West will be closing its Isleworth branch on 12 July as part of a nationwide programme of bank closures which it says is due to a customer shift to online banking. It claims branches have been selected for closure based on a low number of customer visits.
For the Isleworth branch, Nat West publish figures to justify the closure which showed that transactions by personal customers had fallen by 57% between January 2019 and January 2022 and 65% of Isleworth customers banking online.
The nearest remaining branches of the bank are on Hounslow High Street, George Street in Richmond or The Mall in Ealing.
Brentford lost its last bank in June 2021 with the departure of Barclays.
Brentford and Isleworth MP Ruth Cadbury said on social media, “The only bank between Hounslow and Chiswick, the NatWest in Isleworth is due to close shortly. I met angry local residents along with Cllr Tony Louki to discuss the issue. I’ve written to NatWest expressing my concern and that of my constituents about the closure that particularly affects those unable to access on-line banking, and cash-based businesses. I fear that, given what has happened to other banks such as Barclays and NatWest in Brentford, we’re not going to get a positive response, which is of concern to those who depend on cash and on face-to-face banking services.”
Acton, which has also been hit by a departure of all its High Street banks, has recently seen the opening of a Banking Hub in which services from all the main providers are offered at a single site. No similar plans have been announced for either Brentford or Isleworth.
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