The news that Gillingham’s last bank branch is set to close has prompted the local council to apply for a banking hub for the town.

Lloyds Bank recently announced that it is to shut its branch on the High Street on 8 January next year, leaving the town without a bank.

When the issue was raised at the Town Council’s finance and policy committee meeting on Monday councillors expressed their ‘disappointment’ at the announcement.

And former mayor Barry von Clemens revealed that he was applying for the town to become what is known as a ‘banking hub’.

Banking hubs are owned by by Cash Access UK, a not-for-profit company funded by major high street banks, and run by the Post Office. Cash Access UK says that ‘each banking hub has a counter where you can access cash services whenever the hub is open and whoever you bank with…’

However, Councillor von Clemens said this was just an initial application and only the ‘first step in a long and very bureaucratic process’.

The first part of this process involves an assessment of the town’s cash needs, which looks at the size of the population and the number of cashpoints available.

Councillor von Clemens added: ‘I’m not overly confident, but fingers crossed – it’s worth a try.’

He and other councillors pointed to the fact that businesses and charities in the town still need local banking services.