The battle to open a banking hub in Budleigh Salterton has been taken to Parliament by David Reed, MP for Exmouth and Exeter East, keen to challenge red tape and aid residents’ access to cash.
The MP is pushing against rules set out by LINK, the operator behind cash machines and banking hubs, after it judged money could be accessed in Budleigh through its Post Office and from ATMs and banks in Exmouth.
Now Mr Reed has taken the fight to Westminster, to lobby for a change in banking hub rules.
He said the town, and surrounding villages, for more than two months last year was left without any access to cash when Budleigh’s Post Office temporarily closed, sparking hundreds of calls for action from the community.
Budleigh’s plight recently reached MP Rachel Blake, Economic Secretary (HM Treasury), who agreed to meet with Mr Reed to discuss, and potentially change, the yardstick used to measure community banking hub needs.
Mr Reed said: “For weeks last year, local people had no reliable way to access their own money. For many of them – older people, small business owners, people without internet access. LINK’s current rules do not reflect reality, and I am pleased the Minister has agreed to sit down with me to look at changing them.”
Mr Reed’s campaign includes a public survey of hundreds of responses when the town was temporarily without its Post Office, which he put to LINK.
And when LINK turned down a banking hub application last year, the MP pushed for a fresh review, which he says is ongoing.
Mr Reed said LINK’s criteria ruling the town’s Post Office was justification against opening a banking hub ‘ignored the reality on the ground’ that residents had been left without direct access to cash when it temporarily closed.
He said: “This affects older people, small businesses and anyone without reliable internet access. The current rules simply do not reflect the reality facing communities like ours, and I welcome the Minister’s agreement to review them.”
The Exmouth and Exeter East MP’s push for a Budleigh banking hub was driven by LINK’s assessment of the town, where it ruled against recommending any new cash access services at this time.
It judged those living in Budleigh and its surrounding villages would not be impacted by its decision because cash could be accessed within a three-mile radius, at the town’s Post Office, in Exmouth, and through ATM machines.
Nick Quin, LINK Chief Corporate Affairs, said: “Access to cash remains vital for millions of people across the UK. It’s our job to carry out assessments when a bank branch closes or if people in the local community ask us to. We publish the outcome of our assessment and any recommendations we make for new cash access services.
“While we recognise it may be disappointing to many in Budleigh Salterton, based on the access to cash rules set by the Financial Conduct Authority, we are satisfied that the community continues have good access to cash through the local Post Office and free to use ATMs.”
