Councillor Matthew Dorrance met with representatives from Barclays Bank to put resident concerns to them.

It was announced earlier this year that Brecon will lose its Barclays Bank branch. The branch, located on The Bulwark, will close its doors on Friday, August 25.

The bank has attributed the close to a drop in the number of customers using the branch, adding that only 26 people use the branch on a regular basis. Instead, Barclays has said that 85 per cent of people who use the Brecon branch now bank on the app, online and by phone.

When the closure was announced, a spokesperson for Barclays said: "We’ll continue to be part of your community in Brecon. We’re just finalising the arrangements of where and when our colleagues will be to support you, and as soon as they are confirmed we’ll share the details."

It is the community concern that prompted the Deputy Leader and Cabinet Member for a Fairer Powys, Councillor Matthew Dorrance, to meet with a Barclays bank representative.

Speaking after their meeting with Barclays Bank, Cllr Matthew Dorrance, Cllr Liz Rijnenberg and Cllr David Meredith said:

 “Whilst we are grateful to Barclays for meeting us we remain concerned about their plans to close the Brecon Branch and we want them to reconsider this proposal. The Barclays official we met confirmed that Barclays will publish the results of their community impact assessment and we will be analysing this data when it is available.

 “Barclays have assured us that they remain committed to Brecon and we expect them to make an announcement confirming that and future operating options soon.

 “Given that Barclays have told us they remain committed to Brecon we have asked them to consider what more they can do to support Brecon, our town centre and the local community. We hope to have further discussions with them on this.”

Following the closure, the nearest Barclays branches available will be in Builth Wells and Abergavenny.