'A situation of managed decline for rural residents' - North Shropshire MP raises concerns over access to bank services
Towns must have banking services available before new housing schemes are approved, a county MP has said.
North Shropshire MP Helen Morgan has called for a review of banking hub criteria to "get services back into high streets" and to help "revitalise" market towns in the region.
Mrs Morgan told the House of Commons that rural areas are in a situation of "managed decline" with services being removed. And expressed her concerns that only Oswestry, within her constituency, will have a commercial banking branch left after NatWest closes in Market Drayton later this year.
The Liberal Democrat MP said Ellesmere residents face a 45-minute round trip on public transport to visit the closest actual bank in Oswestry, and that someone living in surrounding villages is in a "difficult situation". She added that Ellesmere has a population of around 5,000 people and 90 commercial units, but does not have a bank or meet the criteria for a banking hub.
LINK, who provide the UK’s cash access and ATM network, announced that it will bring a banking hub service to Market Drayton while a banking hub has already been set up in Whitchurch.
However, Mrs Morgan has tabled an amendment seeking for a planning authority to assess the need for a banking hub in a town, before approving proposals for new homes.

Speaking in Parliament, she claimed that people need to do more than "simply deposit and withdraw cash", and speaking from her own experience at a village store and post office in Shropshire, said it was a "logistical nightmare" to change the signatory on a bank account or set up a new one.
"We find ourselves in a situation of managed decline for rural constituents, with essential services slowly removed bit by bit every year," said Mrs Morgan.
"I attended the opening of the Whitchurch banking hub, which is providing a vital service to a town of around 10,000 people that had lost its final bank branch. While that is great news for Whitchurch and the best alternative to a network of commercial banks, we must consider now those market towns that do not meet the criteria set by LINK.
"For places with poor digital access, where many people cannot access online banking, it is essential that we review the criteria that LINK uses to assess the need for a banking hub.
"A medieval market town that has been serving the centre of its community for hundreds and hundreds of years is on its knees because there is no access to banking. It is essential that we get those services back into high streets to revitalise towns such as Ellesmere as soon as possible."