THE Coventry Building Society, located within the John Goodwin estate agents in Gloucester Road, is due to close its branch in Ross-on-Wye on September 10.

It is the latest banking organisation to close its doors in Ross-on-Wye following the departure of Santander and Lloyds Bank in the last two years.

Coventry Building Society is a mutual organisation owned by its members for over 140 years, but now its management has taken the decision to close its agency network - an independent business that provides services on behalf of the building society and was originally operated in Ross as part of the Morris Bricknell estate agency.

In a statement the Coventry Building Society said: “To reflect these changes in close its agency network, we’ll be continuing to invest in our branch network and The Co-operative Bank.

“We know how important branches are to the communities they serve, and our fantastic branch colleagues make them places where people feel supported and valued.

“To make sure we’re investing in the right way and in the right places, we’ve taken a look at the usage of all our branches, including our agencies.

“In recent years, the number of people going into banks and building society branches across the UK has fallen as many customers now manage their money online.

“They also use less cash to pay for things. Because of this, many banks and building societies have closed branches or moved employees to new roles.

“Since 2018, average transactions have fallen by around 28 per cent with the number of customers using them very low.

“To make sure our network continues to thrive, and we invest in the right areas, we’re closing our agency locations. This includes our agency in Gloucester Road, Ross.

“We’ve issued this statement to make sure our members and customers are kept up to date with our plans.

“We acquired our agency network in 2010 when we bought Stroud & Swindon Building Society. These locations have been a strong provider of our services since then, providing great support to their local communities.”

The spokesperson for the building society said that before making any decisions the society looked at each location and evaluated on how the agency was being used.

The spokesperson concluded:” We know that closing our agency in Ross-on-Wye will affect the local community. That’s why, we’re working to explore how this may impact people in the area.

“We’ll write to all members who have transacted in the Ross-on-Wye agency within the last year to let them know about the closure.

“We’ll support members and customers to use our telephone and digital services via our online banking and our app. We’ll identify the nearest local branches alongside travel time to them by car and public transport.

“We’ll also signpost to other local organisations, such as Citizens Advice and Age UK and we’ll write to the local MP and local councils.

“We’ll publish a summary of any feedback we receive about the closure and we’ll make this report available in the Ross agency and on our website.”