The forthcoming closure of the last full bank branch on a high street has prompted concern from town councillors.

The Barclays Bank branch on Yarm High Street is set to close in July, with the bank saying just 27 regular customers in total used the branch exclusively for their banking.

The bank stresses it will still have a site in Yarm, with plans to open a Barclays Local “pop-up cashless banking” location for customers to get face-to-face support.

The plans led to discussion at Yarm Town Council meeting, where chairman Councillor John Coulson said: “Barclays Bank in the High Street is closing down and I’ve had a meeting with the manager of Barclays. I’ve also had meetings with Matt Vickers and he was stunned by this.

“In essence, the footfall has dropped and the bank has been used for paying in and withdrawing, which costs them money. The services that they actually rely on, like the mortgages etc etc, all the financial things that banks do, because of the advent of the internet people are no longer, or not all, going into the bank, they’re doing it online.

“So basically because of that Barclays have decided to close the branch down.

“In the last year there’s been a 33% reduction in counter transactions in the Yarm branch. In addition to that, there’s 87% of the customers using alternative ways in which they do banking, which includes telephone and online and mobile apps.”

Asked about keeping it open, he said: “The answer was that Barclays in all the time they’ve ever decided to shut a bank, they’ve never rescinded it, ever.”

But he said: “It’s not all doom and gloom.” He told of proposals to look for a unit which would be manned three days a week: “It is ongoing to deal with all banking issues but it will not include the paying in of money and cheques and it will not include the withdrawal of money.”

Cllr Peter Monck said: “When NatWest closed they set up a pop-up thing and it only lasted six months. They also did one in Saltburn and one in Redcar and they only lasted six months.”

Cllr Philip Addison said: “Let’s object in the strongest possible terms we can, knowing where it’s going to end up.”

Cllr Alan Moffitt said: “I would remind them of their promise when NatWest closed, they said they wouldn’t, and they got a lot of business from that.” When the closure was put down to internet banking, he said: “It is but they’ve pushed us that way.”

Ratepayers’ representative Cllr Karen Shields said: “In areas of high deprivation where people don’t have access to online banking or don’t feel comfortable working with online banking, you’re actually taking cash out of your society. We’re already starting to see ‘no cash, card only’ everywhere.

“The prices will start to go up for those people, and that’s a really wicked thing to start happening. Not everybody wants to online bank or is able to. In areas of high deprivation it’s very difficult for people.”

Cllr Bob Wegg said: “I think we should send them a strong letter, whether they close or not.” This was agreed by the council.

A Barclays spokesperson said: “Our customers’ behaviour has changed significantly in recent years, with the majority now choosing online banking. This is reflected at Yarm branch, and as we adapt, we are finding new ways to support our customers by maintaining our community presence with options for customers who still require in-person support.

“In Yarm we plan to open a Barclays Local – a pop-up cashless banking site where customers can meet a colleague face-to-face for banking support, as they would in a branch and without the need to travel. We are currently working with the local community to identify a suitable location and will announce details once confirmed.”