Natwest will shut Northampton branch as part of 158 closures nationwide

Natwest is to close its branch at St James Retail Park after a fall in the number of people using it.

The NatWest branch in St James Retail Park is due to close on September 27 this year after it emerged the number of transactions in the branch had declined by 30 per cent over the past six years.

The closest outlet will be in The Drapery, which is just over half-a-mile away.

A statement from NatWest said: "We are communicating with our customers affected by the closure and proactively contacting vulnerable and regular branch customers.

"We have listened closely to feedback from local communities and have extended the time between announcing our decision and the branch closure to six months.

"This has been done in order to ensure our customers have time to consider the right banking options for them."

Natwest says it has 98 ATM machines within a mile of the branch and says its customers have a list of other options to continue banking with the brand online and over the phone.

"Our customers can contact us over the phone, via web-chat and social media," the spokesman said. "Our contact centres are open 24/7 and teams are trained to answer almost every query at first point of contact.

"Services available over the phone range from transfers and payments to opening new accounts, financial reviews and support with using digital banking."

The brand also has a national deal with the Post Office, whereby customers can pay money in, take money out, check balances and business customers can get coinage. The closest Post Office is also half-a-mile away from the branch.