A bank in Aberdeen will close in June, forcing residents to travel miles for alternative services.
The Clydesdale branch in Mastrick will shut in the summer, with the nearest available options in either Queens Road or Dyce.
Bank bosses have insisted that the closure, one of two planned for Scotland with the other being Edinburgh’s Davidson’s Mains, is necessary due to declining custom.
But local residents have argued the branch was “well used” and raised fears for other shops on the arcade.
The news comes just months after the Royal Bank of Scotland announced over sixty branch closures across Scotland- including Aberdeen’s Bridge of Don and Dyce outlets.
And last week, the Press and Journal revealed council chiefs are in bail-out talks with administrators at the collapsed NESCU credit union in Torry.
One customer of the Mastrick bank, who didn’t want to be named, said: “It’s not only the bank closing, this will have a big knock-on effect and there will be a big drop in footfall at that shopping centre.
“People don’t just use the bank- they use the newsagent, the baker, all the shops.
“The people in the area are very angry.”
Kingswells, Sheddocksley and Summerhill councillor Steve Delaney described the closure news as a “huge disappointment” to local residents.
He said: “When I used to live in Northfield, I always used this branch and it always seemed very busy.
“This news will come as a huge disappointment, because there are a lot of local people who are really dependent on that bank.
“The nearest alternative branches will now be in either Dyce or the west end and will be just too far for many to get to.”
A Clydesdale bank spokeswoman said: “In keeping with the rest of the banking sector, we are continuing to see a reduction in branch footfall, with supporting research showing that since 2011, the number of UK customers using their bank for day-to-day transactions has fallen by a third.
“The changes will take place by the end of June.
“The branches scheduled for closure have been selected based on many factors including transaction levels, lease expiry dates, proximity to other centres and other local factors.”