Great Massingham residents and businesses gather at post office to highlight lack of banking services in West Norfolk

The reliance residents and businesses place on a rural village’s post office for cash has highlighted the issues brought on by numerous bank closures.

And this culminated in them gathering at Great Massingham’s branch, located in Massingham Stores, on Tuesday to highlight the fact that the closest bank lies 11 miles away.

Elderly residents, pub landlords and village hall representatives, all who use the Station Road business for cash services, were among those in attendance, putting up a playful sign pointing in the direction of other banks and supermarkets.

Postmaster Mark Elridge, who serves them on a regular basis, joined in the campaign – and has called for banks and the Government to do more to help those living in rural areas.

This came as 77-year-old Eddie Evans, who lives in Weasenham – around four miles away – told the Lynn News that she has to travel by car to the post office, with no bank in her own village and no bus link to Massingham.

She is among those who have contributed to a 10% increase in people using the banking services provided at the Massingham post office each week.

Mr Elridge said: “The banking services that the post office do are absolutely crucial – more so than ever now.

“We’re in a triangle of three towns locally – Fakenham, Swaffham and Lynn. Looking at Fakenham as an example, there are three banks as we stand here today – but by the end of this year, there will only be one.

“That’s very sad for those colleagues, but from a customer’s perspective, access to cash, the ability to take cash out, deposit cheques or even just to check the balance for those that aren’t in the digital age, is absolutely crucial.

“To give people the confidence to know where they are with their own finances at any given moment is absolutely vital – and of course, on the doorstep at a post office, as we are, it’s really convenient for everyone to use us.”

Ms Evans also drew attention to banks closing down in Fakenham, leaving the Massingham post office as an “essential” outlet for her and other elderly residents.

She has urged bosses to realise that “people aren’t like that round here” when it comes to using online and digital banking.

“I don’t know what we’d do without it, seeing as the banks have let us down so badly,” she said of the post office.

“Otherwise, with the Fakenham bank closing that I go to, I think the nearest one is going to be Dereham – and heaven only knows how far that is.”

The lack of banking services also means businesses in the village are reliant on the post office.

Volunteers at the village hall, also on Station Road, use it on a regular basis due to a lack of alternative options – although they are more than pleased with the service they receive.

Deborah Lambert, who manages the hall, and Philip Ward, who is the chair of its committee, have stressed the importance that Mr Elridge’s post office has.

Mr Ward said: “The village hall relies on the local post office. We still try very hard to be a cashless business, but inevitably as a small local business with an elderly population, we deal with a lot of cash.

“We need to get it banked, we need to get it promptly, and the post office does a heck of a good job for us.”

“This post office is actually essential for our business, because in a rural area it’s a long way to have to travel to our bank,” Ms Lambert added.

“Here, they offer a very prompt, polite service – and basically we rely on it.”

Our area has been rocked by a series of bank closures in recent months, including Hunstanton’s Barclays branch in April.

NatWest in Fakenham, on the corner of Market Place and Bridge Street, closed earlier this month, while staff at Downham’s last remaining bank – which was due to close next month – have announced it will instead shut its doors early next year.

In Massingham, Mark Dobby, the 42-year-old pub landlord of The Dabbling Duck pub, says the everyday banking services offered at the post office are “vital”.

“We use the banking services at the post office daily. Without it our closest bank would be Lynn,” he said.

“If we used the bank at Lynn, by the time you’ve gone in and made your cash deposits and come back that’s half a day gone. It’s not a viable option. It would be near impossible to go to the bank in Lynn every day.

“We also use the post office for change and it allows us to continue to take cash payments from customers – which many like to do. If the post office was not here, we would have to stop taking cash payments.

“The post office is essential to Great Massingham and village life, it would be a different village without it.”