BANKING BATTLE: Havant MP Launches New Law After High Street Branches Vanish

HAVANT'S fight for face-to-face banking has moved from the high street to the House of Commons.

After years of branch closures, queues, confusion and residents being pushed online whether they like it or not, local MP Alan Mak has introduced a new law aimed at expanding Britain's network of Banking Hubs.

The In-Person Banking Services Bill would force decision-makers to look beyond cash machines and Post Offices when deciding whether a town deserves proper banking help.

For Havant, Emsworth and Hayling Island, this is not some dry Westminster argument. It is about whether older residents, disabled customers, small traders and people who are not confident online can still sit down with a real human being when money matters get complicated.

## THE BRANCHES DISAPPEARED

The backdrop is brutal.

Halifax and Lloyds in Havant both shut earlier this year. Barclays closed its East Street branch in 2022, although it still maintains a physical presence at Havant Library in the Meridian Centre.

That leaves Nationwide as the only remaining traditional branch in Havant town centre.

In Emsworth and Hayling Island, the position is even starker: both communities have no physical bank branches left.

For people with smartphones, cars, spare time and confidence online, that may sound inconvenient rather than catastrophic. For others, it can be the difference between independence and anxiety.

A small business owner depositing takings, a pensioner worried about a suspicious transaction, a carer trying to sort out paperwork, or someone with a disability who needs patient in-person help cannot always solve the problem with an app.

## THE NEW BILL

Mr Mak spoke in the Commons this week to introduce his In-Person Banking Services Bill.

He says the current rules are too narrow because communities can be judged to have enough banking provision if there is access to cash nearby — for example, a Post Office or cash machine within one kilometre of a high street.

His bill would change that test.

Instead of asking only whether people can get cash, LINK — the organisation that assesses communities for Banking Hubs — would also have to consider whether residents can access face-to-face banking services.

Mr Mak said: "Conservatives put access to cash into law, and that's made a real difference. Now we must go further and put access to face-to-face banking into law, so people can speak to a staff member in-person for help and advice."

He added that his bill is a "practical, common-sense way" to expand Banking Hubs for communities that need them most, including small business owners, older people, people with disabilities and those who are digitally or socially excluded.

## HAVANT WON — BUT OTHERS MISSED OUT

Havant has already secured a Banking Hub following a campaign backed by residents.

A LINK review recommended the town for a hub, which will be delivered by Cash Access UK, the not-for-profit company funded by major banks.

The hub is expected to provide a shared counter service for essential transactions such as deposits, withdrawals and paying utility bills, available to customers of major banks on weekdays.

It should also include community banker sessions, where customers can speak face-to-face with someone from their own bank on the day that bank is in the hub.

The opening date and exact location have not yet been confirmed.

But the Havant success has also exposed the problem.

Mr Mak says communities such as Emsworth and Hayling Island have been rejected under the current criteria because the system focuses too heavily on access to cash, rather than access to actual banking advice and support.

"Too often, if there's a Post Office or cash machine nearby, a community is judged to have sufficient access to banking services," he said.

"But for many people, that is not enough. In our area I have secured a new Banking Hub for Havant, but coastal communities such as Emsworth and Hayling Island have been rejected due to the current narrow criteria.

"I want to change that by changing the law."

## THE NATIONAL SCALE IS HUGE

This is not just a Havant issue.

Mr Mak says more than 6,000 bank branches have closed across the UK over the past decade. LINK has carried out more than 1,600 assessments and made 276 recommendations for new Banking Hubs, including Havant.

Consumer group Which? says the branch closure figure is even higher when measured since January 2015.

Sam Richardson, deputy editor of Which? Money, said banks and building societies have closed 6,719 branches since then, at a rate of around 53 each month.

He warned the closures disproportionately affect older people, disabled people and those who are less digitally confident, because they rely on in-person services to manage their finances.

Which? says it supports the bill because it would strengthen protection for face-to-face banking and help ensure no community is left behind.

## AGE UK BACKS THE PUSH

The bill has also been backed by Age UK.

Caroline Abrahams, the charity's director, said: "Alan's Bill is an important step forward in protecting access to face-to-face banking services for older people."

She said the ability to access in-person banking remains "hugely important" and warned that, as branches continue to close, more people are being forced to travel further and finding it harder to manage their money.

That line will ring true for plenty of families across Havant borough.

A closed branch does not just remove a counter. It removes reassurance. It removes a familiar place. It removes the moment when someone can say, face-to-face: I don't understand this letter, can you help me?

## WHY THIS MATTERS LOCALLY

Havant town centre badly needs reasons for people to keep coming in.

A Banking Hub would not solve every high street problem, but it would bring regular footfall from residents and traders who still need in-person services. Those visits can spill into cafés, shops, pharmacies and other local businesses.

For Emsworth and Hayling Island, the argument is about fairness.

Why should coastal communities with older populations, independent traders and transport challenges be told a cash machine is enough?

A cash point cannot discuss fraud. A Post Office counter cannot replace every banking service. An app cannot always calm someone who is scared they have lost money.

## THE VERDICT

The banking world has changed, and nobody seriously expects every old branch to reopen.

But progress should not mean abandoning the people least able to keep up with it.

Havant has won a Banking Hub. Now the fight is whether the same principle can stretch to communities like Emsworth and Hayling Island before more residents are left stranded.

The bill may face the usual Westminster hurdles. It may be amended, delayed or talked out. But the issue behind it is real and local.

Money is personal. When something goes wrong, people want more than a chatbot and a PIN reminder.

They want a person.

And in Havant borough, that demand is getting louder.

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*Sources: Alan Mak MP statement on the In-Person Banking Services Bill, 30 April 2026; Portsmouth News reporting on the bill; Alan Mak MP updates on Havant Banking Hub campaign; Which? Money and Age UK comments quoted in Alan Mak's parliamentary update; Cash Access UK / LINK Banking Hub process information as described in local campaign updates.*