Croydon (Parliament Politics Magazine) – New Addington has lost its last high street bank after Lloyds closed, sparking concerns over access to financial services for Croydon residents.
By launching what is said to be a community campaign that purposefully leaves out a local councillor, petty politician Jason Perry, the failing mayor of Croydon, has once again demonstrated his willingness to put the interests of his party, the Conservatives, ahead of the interests of the people he is meant to represent.
The last bank in the area, Lloyds Bank, has indicated that it will close its branch in New Addington.
In an attempt to obtain the names and contact information of as many possible supporters as possible before the local elections in eight months, Tory Perry has launched what he claims is a petition but is actually a deceitful data-scrapping activity.
Perry, and his three pliant Tory councillors in New Addington, ought to know only too well that there’s little to no chance of Lloyds reversing their closure decision.
“We are demanding Lloyds Bank reverse this decision and protect essential banking services in our town,”
Perry said. Banks have been closing branches across the country for the past decade or so, throughout the period of Tory-inflicted austerity. Few, if any, petitions have managed to persuade the number crunchers in The City to change their hard-nosed business decisions to close.
Perry and his pitiful group of local council members did little to change the hard-nosed business decision when Coulsdon, a genuine blue part of the borough, lost its final main street bank. The opening of a local banking hub, the fifth in London, earlier this year was the result of an excellent campaign that was organized by the local residents’ group.
However, Perry made sure he attended the ribbon cutting, which is one of the few things he has demonstrated any ability to do while in office. Not to mention stuffing his face with free food and beverages.
Perry said.
“This closure is a hammer blow for local residents and small businesses who rely on face-to-face banking,”
“For elderly and vulnerable residents in particular, online services are no substitute.”
But some New Addington residents have rumbled Perry’s plan. “This needs a concerted and united community action,” one told Inside Croydon.
“Yet Mayor Perry’s petition only mentions Conservative councillors Lara Fish, Tony Pearson and Adele Benson, even though there is another councillor for New Addington who also opposes the closure, Kola Agboola.
If Perry was serious about lobbying Lloyds to reverse their decision with a truly community-wide campaign, he would have set aside petty party differences and included Councillor Agboola in his announcement. That Mayor Perry failed to do so tells you all you need to know about his petition, and about petty Perry.”
In addition to the fact that New Addington will lose its last high street bank, there is little possibility that it will be replaced by a banking hub, as was the case in Coulsdon.
As they concluded last year with a similar proposal for Selsdon town centre, LINK, who oversee Britain’s cash machine network, has already completed a local assessment in New Addington and is likely to deny any request.
The existence of a post office on Central Parade in New Addington might be viewed by LINK’s assessors as adequate public service provision.
According to Lloyds, the New Addington location will shut down on January 14, 2026.
The decision comes after NatWest on Lower Addiscombe Road and at the Whitgift Centre, as well as Santander on North End, were recently closed. There used to be four bank branches on each corner of a crossroads in South End, South Croydon. All four have since left, to be replaced by a funeral director, a pre-school, and a couple of estate agents, which is appropriate given the status of the high street.
Lloyds points to the rise in online and mobile banking usage, but Irons cautions that the change will have a detrimental effect on older individuals, small business owners, and those with impairments who would find it difficult to access digital services.
How will residents access cash after the New Addington branch closes?
After the closure of the Lloyds Bank branch in New Addington, residents will have access to cash using alternative cash services, pending new rules by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA).
Cash access assessors (such as LINK) have determined that the existence of a Post Office branch on Central Parade in New Addington means that basic cash services (withdrawals and payments) are adequately offered.
In locations where significant gaps in cash access exist following many bank closures, banks will be obliged by the FCA to create “banking hubs” that provide counter services run by Post Office staff that will provide basic routine banking.
Further ATMs, and ATMs that are capable of deposit (or other similar type) services, can be installed or can continue to serve the bi-residential catchment to facilitate access to physical cash.