HSBC has confirmed its branch in Minehead will close on Tuesday May 9. The bank has now applied for planning permission and listed building consent to remove the ATM, signage and CCTV and reinstate a window and stone sill to match the original façade.

That would leave three bank ATMs at NatWest, TSB and Santander, although there are 10 other free cash machines in the town centre.

HSBC blamed the decision to close on "changes in the way customers are choosing to bank" noting that "customers using HSBC UK branches fell by a third over the past 5 years."

It says nine in ten customers now carry out transactions via telephone, internet or smartphone whilst 99% of cash withdrawals are made at an ATM.

The branch is one of 114 earmarked for closure in November, including Frome and Wells which are due to shut in June.

The West Somerset Free Press spoke to residents in Minehead to find out how the loss of the cash machine will affect the town.

Minehead resident, Roy Dix, 81
Minehead resident, Roy Dix, 81 (Tindle)

Roy Dix, 81, is a local resident who banks with HSBC. He told the Free Press: "It’s being transferred to Taunton and I go to Taunton once a week or once a month so I’m not changing my bank. I can use the Post Office for cash."

Minehead resident James graham, 75
Minehead resident James Graham, 75 (Tindle )

Local resident James Graham, 75, said: "I just got some cash out of TSB. People rely on cash like on a market day, so things can get difficult for the market and difficult for the local producers. But things get more difficult and you have to change as you get older, we’ve been brought up with cash."

Another local resident who used to work in the Minehead HSBC branch, but did not want to be named, said: "I don’t use cash. Everything is on my phone. You’ve got a cash machine in Co-Op, Tesco, Santander, a fair few. It won’t bother me that that’s gone."  

Ahead of the bank branch closure, HSBC have published an impact analysis report. HSBC say they have written to the constituency MP, and have pledged to "engage with the local community and organisations.

UK distribution managing director Jackie Uhi said: “People are changing the way they bank and footfall in many branches is at an all-time low, with no signs of it returning.

“Banking remotely is becoming the norm for the vast majority of us.”

Ms Uhi said it was never easy to close a branch and such decisions were not taken lightly, and HSBC would invest in ‘post-closure’ measures such as offering free tablet devices to help customers bank digitally, and coaching help for those who needed it to migrate to digital banking.

To see a map of all of the UK's cash machines, you can use the Link Cash Locator.