Residents welcome approval of new banking hub

Residents of a Surrey town where all banks have closed have welcomed approval for a new banking hub.

Oxted is to become the fifth place in the county to receive a banking hub, where bank branches share a space to provide in-person services.

The move comes after Link UK, who help deliver the sites, previously found a hub was not needed in Oxted in June 2025, shortly after the last of the town's banks closed in April 2024.

Councillor Cameron Macintosh, who headed the campaign, said: "We have tried to make the case that Oxted needs this type of local infrastructure to benefit not just residents, but businesses as well."

He added: "This will have a huge impact on elderly residents who would struggle to get elsewhere.

"I'm over the moon with this decision. People will still be able to experience face-to-face services which are incredibly important."

Banking hubs work by providing a space for financial services, such as cash machines, while also providing in-person banking services for different branches on different days.

Hubs have already been opened in Caterham, Dorking and Haslemere, with a fourth has been recommended to open in Godalming.

In Oxted, residents said they would overwhelmingly welcome the opening of the new hub.

Sheila Crampton, an Oxted resident, said: "I was mugged at a cash machine when someone grabbed my card, so I would feel much safer in a bank."

Meanwhile, fellow resident Dulcie Brown added: "I just feel for the older generation, there should be somewhere for people to get money because they are so used to using cash."

A Link UK spokesperson said Cash Access UK, which runs the hubs, will now begin to look for suitable sites for the hub.

An opening date has yet to be set.

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