Harringay, Haringey - So Good they Spelt it Twice!

Barclays Bank Closing

We have just got a letter telling us that Barclays Harringay is closing on 12/08/21.

This is the only bank in Harringay and always has queues to get in. There is obviously a need for it, why close it?

Time for a petition?

Louisa Spivack

(Note from Site Admin- See potted history by Hugh, below on page 2)

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Permalink Reply by Christopher Fowler on May 14, 2021 at 11:52

I'd like to endorse this, especially as I am "little", "old", and a "man". The people who suffer from bank closures, reduced access to cash, and the increasing drive (mainly emanating from the Treasury and Revenue and Customs) to do away with cash, are mainly those who are older and less financially well off, or have health problems. It is certainly not enough to say that people can rely on the Post Office network, especially in light of the larger post office branches closing, with business transferred to far smaller "franchised" offices; which would include the one on Green Lanes, Harringay. I find it rather disturbing that so many are remarking on here that banks are not a public service, when they market themselves as providing a service to customers (which is pretty well all of us). Also, analysing the income generated for a bank branch simply by a count of those who use it exclusively, is to exclude all the other advantages a bank gets from having local branches; the most obvious of which is their high visibility on the high street. Banks were bailed out by the government just over ten years ago, and some are still in receipt of taxpayer support. If they expect this support, they must provide a service to all.

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Permalink Reply by Ian Craine on May 14, 2021 at 12:41

A PLC right? That is I believe a PUBLIC Limited Company. It seems to me that by going public, ie relying on the public to raise money for it it should be more rather than less beholden to the community it serves.

It is not a practical solution to buy a few shares and go to AGMs; that's not going to achieve anything as I'm sure you know, Kotkas. Neither almost certainly will local protests and petitions but it makes us feel a bit better and rattles their cage a bit.

Banks have a duty to their customers as well as their shareholders. The thing is also that Barclays have two branches close together in Wood Green and it would make much more sense for them to close one of them.

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Permalink Reply by Gordon T on May 14, 2021 at 14:24

They did. Last November.

The Lordship Lane branch. Also closed, Highgate, last October. And Highbury Corner closes 10th June. We're not alone.

Still extant: Wood Green High Rd, Crouch End, Holloway Rd, Muswell Hill (in rough order of travel convenience from the Ladder). None of these currently have closure consultations listed by Barclays, by the way.

[As a NatWest customer, I miss the Finsbury Park branch, and I wonder if the Crouch End branch footfall is sufficient for long-term survival].