Kirriemuir has been treated as if it were a “suburb of Forfar” by a national bank, a town councillor has claimed.
Ronnie Proctor has hit out at Royal Bank of Scotland, which last week announced it was closing the town’s branch and he also has concerns about the future of post office provision in the area.
He said he was worried for the future of the town if more facilities and companies left.
Mr Proctor said he had ripped up the bank’s letter stating the branch would close on February 24 in disgust.
“I really feel that the Royal Bank of Scotland has let the people of the area down and I say that as a person who has been loyal to the Royal for more than 50 years,” he said.
“Kirriemuir has a lot of elderly folk who rely on the bank. The letter says people can log into their website but a lot of people in the town do not have access to computers and are not computer savvy. They like to go to a branch to conduct their business.
“I am going to write to RBS with these concerns in the strongest possible terms.”
RBS is closing the bank due to a drop in transactions as more people bank online.
It said it had come to an agreement with the Post Office so that customers can withdraw cash, check balances, and make deposits free of charge. Businesses can also get coinage.
Mr Proctor said this arrangement was unsuitable given the uncertainty over the future of Post Office services in the town.
The town’s main post office on Reform Street recently closed for two weeks and the Post Office completed a consultation on its location being changed to Thistle News and Gifts on High Street earlier this month.
The future of Westmuir Post Office is also in doubt after an announcement that its location was being “withdrawn from use” in January.
“If the post office moves in Kirrie to a little shop and the one at Westmuir closes then the queue is going to be out the door,” Mr Proctor warned.
“If you add on people who want banking services there as wellit’s just not suitable.
“Yes, people can go to the branch in Forfar that’s fine if you’ve got a car and are fit. If you are elderly, it’s a lengthy bus journey. If you are infirm, it causes you more problems.
“The bank has had no thought for the people of the Angus town. It’s like we are being treated as a suburb of Forfar.”
Meanwhile, Angus MP Mike Weir has met Citizens Advice Scotland to discuss the Post Office’s “branch transformation programme”, with particular focus on the situation in Angus.
He said: “We have seen in Angus several proposals that have not adequately taken into account local opinion.
“It seems to me that failure to take of account local opinion at an early stage is a major drawback and they need to engage local communities at the outset to both discuss and explain what is going on.
“All too often it appears that communities are being presented with a done deal rather than a true consultation”
The Post Office is also considering moving the location of its Forfar branch to a convenience store at East High Street. This consultation closed last week.
A Post Office spokesman said: “The public consultation on the relocation of Kirriemuir Post Office ended on November 18 2014 and we will consider all feedback received.
“We would expect to reach a decision within four weeks.”