The branch of NatWest in Swiss Cottage is to close in July

NATWEST has announced it is shutting down its Swiss Cottage branch, claiming just three personal customers regularly used it on a weekly basis last year.

The banking giant is following HSBC, Halifax and Barclays in shutting down branches in Finchley Road last year – and the closure means there will be no banks at all on the main road from the gyratory to Fortune Green. Santander and Lloyds had already retreated from branches in the road.

In the latest illustration of the changing nature of the high street, NatWest said its counters at 106 Finchley Road would be gone on July 31.

When the New Journal visited the branch yesterday (Wednesday), customers outside said they were frustrated that they would be forced to go online.

Photographer and writer Christopher John Ball said he relied on its cashpoint inside Swiss Cottage NatWest.

“As someone with a visible disability, I’m a target: I don’t feel safe using a cash point on the street, I need to use one inside the bank,” he said.

“This branch closure is not for our benefit. It’s not good.”

Mr Ball is also a carer for his ex-partner and said he therefore needs quick access to cash in case of medical emergencies. The nearest branch will be Kilburn or Camden Town, both over a mile away.

Another concerned customer, Saul Pearce, said he used the branch to get cash out for his immobile 90-year-old mother.

He said: “I think it’s outrageous. There are still people like my mum who rely on cash. It’s just wrong that there are no facilities for them.”

Ironically, NatWest used Camden to film a new television advert. With the magic of TV, it made it look like it ran a branch in the Brunswick Centre but despite the temporary purple branding, there is no branch in the shopping complex.

David Reed, treasurer of Save Swiss Cottage Action Group campaigning the planned tower block development in Swiss Cottage, said the group has a bank account at the Finchley Road NatWest branch.

He said: “It’s another bad day in NW3. It will make life much more difficult. There are still several times a day when it would be useful to have a few coins available, if only for the many beggars around the area, suffering from the ongoing effects of the Tory government’s austerity policies.

“If we need to complete any transactions at the bank to fight the awful scheme at 100 Avenue Road it will involve a bus ride to Kilburn High Road, and I’m not getting any younger or fitter.”

NatWest’s analysis on its website said that its records showed that only three customers came into the branch on a weekly basis, although critics say that this is not a fair way to measure regular use.

A NatWest spokesperson said that more than 80 per cent of its active current account holders now use its digital services. They said that its “branch network” remained important and it was investing in “shared solutions like the Post Office and banking hubs”.