A NORTH Coast councillor has voiced his concern over the impending closure of one of the last remaining bank branches in Largs.

Following the closure of Clydesdale Bank and TSB in recent years, the Royal Bank of Scotland closure will mean that there is only one bank left in the town - Bank of Scotland, on the high street.

RBS was due to shut tomorrow (Thursday) but the closure has been delayed, with a group of former employees meeting up for a reunion today.

Independent Councillor Ian Murdoch said it was 'deeply disappointing' that RBS is going to be closing, and said: "A huge number of my constituents don't do digital, and even people like myself who do would like to continue to use walk-in facilities of a bank.

"We are now seeing businesses going back to using cash in a big way but how do they now pay cash into a bank, and what do you do when there is no bank, how do you pay it into your account?

"There is still a sizeable amount of people who don't do digital so how do they manage their money and pay their bills etc?

"It is a total inconvenience and I know people say that you can use a post office to pay a bill instead, but they said that in West Kilbride when all the banks closed, and now their Post Office has shut as well, and they have ended up with nothing."

Ian Murdoch has voiced concern over multiple bank closures in LargsIan Murdoch has voiced concern over multiple bank closures in Largs (Image: Newsquest)

With the likes of banking hubs coming to communities such as Kilwinning, where different banks come to the hubs on different days of the week including RBS on a Tuesday, Cllr Murdoch said: "Yes, they are alternatives that can be explored for Largs, but that doesn't necessarily mean that it will happen. I believe that the closure of banks in the high street should not be happening in the first place."

The Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) branch in the town's Main Street was due to close on October 3 despite public opposition.

Now the bank, owned by NatWest, has had to pause plans with new Financial Conduct Authority rules guaranteeing access to cash in local communities.

Regulations came into force on September 18.

A Royal Bank of Scotland spokesperson said: “To ensure we are supporting customers in the local area, we are now in discussions with LINK to assess whether the community’s needs will still be met once the branch closes.

"This branch will now remain open until discussions have concluded."

When the bank announced the plans earlier this year, they claimed too few people used the branch in person and that residents could simply go to the nearest alternatives - in Greenock or Irvine.

According to the 'closure factsheet' report prepared by the company, there were 10 personal customers who used the branch weekly last year and 106 business customers monthly.