A councillor is staging a last-ditch effort to save a town centre bank by petitioning NatWest’s regional chief.

The bank, which was opened in Halstead in 1843 by London & County Banking Co, announced they would be closing their branch in High Street in March after the number of transactions dropped by 15 per cent in recent years.

Owner of Steve’s Hardware, Steve Kirby, who is councillor for Halstead’s St Andrews ward, is now appealing for people to send him their views on why the branch should not be closed.

He will take opposition letters to a meeting with the chief executive of 16 NatWest branches across Essex and Suffolk, where he will make a case for the Halstead bank to remain open.

* See this week's Halstead Gazette for full story.