Santander closing 44 branches across UK: "Risks isolating sections of the population”

Santander has today announced plans to close 44 branches with financial experts saying it “risks isolating sections of the population”.

The bank said it is transforming its branch network in response to changing customer behaviour. 

Closing branches will be replaced by Community Bankers, operating either from a Santander Local or, where required, a Banking Hub, to provide ongoing face-to-face support for communities, it added.

Following the changes, the refreshed Santander branch network will consist of 305 branches including 244 full-service branches, 19 counter-free branches, 36 reduced-hour branches, and six Work Cafés, alongside 111 Santander Locals.

A spokesperson for Santander UK, said: “In response to a continuing and sizeable shift towards customers using digital banking, we are making changes to our branches to better support our customers. 

"We will continue to invest in both our branch network - comprising of full-service branches, counter-free branches, reduced-hour branches, Santander Locals, and our increasingly popular Work Cafés – as well as our digital banking services, so we can be there to support our customers however they choose to bank with us.”

The full list of closures: 

List of branch changes Branch Branch address Proposed closure dates Andover 33 High Street Andover, Hampshire, SP10 1LJ 12 May 2026 Banbridge 34 Newry Street, Banbridge, County Down, BT32 3HA 19 May 2026 Bangor 64 Main Street, Bangor, County Down, BT20 5AQ 29 April 2026 Berwick Upon Tweed 37 Marygate, Berwick-Upon-Tweed, Northumberland, TD15 1AT 28 April 2026 Bishop Auckland 64 Newgate Street, Bishop Auckland, County Durham, DL14 7JA 05 May 2026 Boston 1 Wide Bargate, Boston, Lincolnshire, PE21 6QY 28 April 2026 Bridgend 13 Adare Street, Bridgend, Mid Glamorgan, CF31 1ET 12 May 2026 Bridgwater 18 Fore Street, Bridgwater, Somerset, TA6 3NG 29 April 2026 Cwmbran 11 North Walk, Cwmbran, Gwent, NP44 1XF 13 May 2026 Enniskillen 4 Church Street, Enniskillen, County Fermanagh, BT74 7EB 12 May 2026 Evesham 17 Bridge Street, Evesham, Worcestershire, WR11 4SQ 28 April 2026 Glengormley 1-3 Farmley Road, Glengormley, County Antrim, BT36 7TR 06 May 2026 Golders Green 640-642 Finchley Road, Golders Green, London, NW11 7RU 13 May 2026 Gosport 128 High Street, Gosport, Hampshire, PO12 1DT 05 May 2026 Haverfordwest 37 Bridge Street, Haverfordwest, Pembrokeshire, SA61 2AD 05 May 2026 Heswall 143-145 Telegraph Road, Heswall, Merseyside, CH60 7SE 13 May 2026 Huntingdon 44 High Street, Huntingdon, Cambridgeshire, PE29 3AJ 05 May 2026 Kirkintilloch 45 Cowgate, Kirkintilloch, Lanarkshire, G66 1HW 29 April 2026 Leighton Buzzard* 1 Hockliffe Street, Leighton Buzzard, Bedfordshire, LU7 1HG By the end of January 2027 Leyland 45 Hough Lane, Leyland, Lancashire, PR25 2SA 06 May 2026 Liskeard Barras Street, Liskeard, Cornwall, PL14 6AL 20 May 2026 Macclesfield 10 Mill Street, Macclesfield, Cheshire, SK11 6PA 12 May 2026 Mansfield 9 Stockwell Gate, Mansfield, Nottinghamshire, NG18 1JY 06 May 2026 Melton Mowbray 5 Nottingham Street, Melton Mowbray, Leicestershire, LE13 1NN 29 April 2026 Merthyr Tydfil 15 Market Square, Merthyr Tydfil, Mid Glamorgan, CF47 8DG 06 May 2026 Mold 31 High Street, Mold, Clwyd, CH7 1BQ 28 April 2026 Newbury 90 Northbrook Street, Newbury, Berkshire, RG14 1AA 29 April 2026 Newton Abbot 3-5 Queen Street, Newton Abbot, Devon, TQ12 2AG 19 May 2026 Northallerton 99/100 High Street, Northallerton, North Yorkshire, DL7 8PP 06 May 2026 Ormskirk* 2 Moor Street, Ormskirk, Lancashire, L39 2XN By the end of January 2027 Pontefract 23 Market Place, Pontefract, West Yorkshire, WF8 1DS 05 May 2026 Ramsgate 40 High Street, Ramsgate, Kent, CT11 9AG 28 April 2026 Redditch 14 Evesham Walk, Redditch, Worcestershire, B97 4YS 13 May 2026 Ringwood 16 High Street, Ringwood, Hampshire, BH24 1BG 06 May 2026 Scunthorpe 138 High St, Scunthorpe, South Humberside, DN15 6ET 29 April 2026 Shirley 223 Stratford Road, Shirley, West Midlands, B90 3AH 20 May 2026 Stafford 1 Market Square, Stafford, Staffordshire, ST16 2JH 19 May 2026 Stranraer 30 George Street, Stranraer, Wigtownshire, DG9 7RL 13 May 2026 Stratford Upon Avon 21 Wood Street, Stratford Upon Avon, Warwickshire, CV37 6JU 12 May 2026 Tonbridge 12 The Pavilion, Tonbridge, Kent, TN9 1TE 29 April 2026 Welwyn Garden City 60 Howardsgate, Welwyn Garden City, Hertfordshire, AL8 6BP 05 May 2026 Whitehaven* 22 King Street, Whitehaven, Cumbria, CA28 7JN By the end of January 2027 Wilmslow* 39 Grove Street, Wilmslow, Cheshire, SK9 1DT By the end of January 2027 Woking Unit 38 The Peacocks, Woking, Surrey, GU21 6GD 28 April 2026

Michelle Lawson, Director at Fareham-based Lawson Financial, bemoaned the loss of traditional banking.

She added: "Traditional banking services have been lost and times change. The end of the high street in most places as well as community hubs. 

“This affects mainly the elderly and rural communities as banking shifts further into the digital age.”

Kate Underwood, Founder at Southampton-based Kate Underwood HR and Training, said branches are still needed.

She added: "Bank branch closures aren’t progress for small businesses. They’re just passing the pain down the line. I get it. Loads of people bank on their phones now. But plenty of UK small firms still need a real counter. Paying in cash and coins. Getting change. Sorting cheques. 

"Having an actual conversation about lending. Fixing a frozen account quickly when you’ve got wages to run and suppliers chasing. Community Bankers and Banking Hubs might help, but they’re not the same as a branch you can walk into when something’s gone wrong and you need it sorted today, not in three to five working days. 

“And it’s not just ‘a bank’ disappearing. It’s footfall and confidence on the high street. It’s you having to travel further to do basic admin, taking time off the tools, carrying cash around (hello risk), and adding another job to your already ridiculous list. For small business owners, this lands as lost time, more hassle, and more exposure. Especially if you’re in retail or hospitality.”

Rob Mansfield, Independent Financial Advisor at Tonbridge-based Rootes Wealth Management, said many are being left behind by the march of technology.

He continued: “Whilst many people may be comfortable using online or mobile banking, there are people who either can't or won't use it. The relentless march of branch closures risks isolating sections of the population, particularly the elderly and disabled. 

"Banking hubs are an important step and the banks should work together at speed to develop these so that customers can have a choice of banks and not have the constant anxiety that their branch is about to disappear off the high street.”

Ranald Mitchell, Director at Norwich-based Charwin Mortgages, said branches are a “practical lifeline”.

He added: “Digital first can’t mean community last. Closing 44 Santander branches is a logical response to changing behaviour, with the vast majority of day-to-day banking now done online. But a branch isn’t just a transaction point, it’s a safety net for older and vulnerable customers, and a practical lifeline for local firms that still rely on cash, and face-to-face support. 

"If these closures are to work, Community Bankers and Banking Hubs must be properly staffed, easy to access and genuinely empowered to fix problems, not simply redirect people to an app. This has to be transformation with a conscience, not efficiency at the expense of inclusion.”

Rohit Parmar-Mistry, Founder at Burton-on-Trent-based Pattrn Data, questioned the motives for closing branches.

He continued: "'Changing customer behaviour' is the classic corporate smokescreen. It’s a self-fulfilling prophecy: you strip branches of functionality, slash opening hours, and force people onto apps, then feign surprise when ‘nobody uses branches anymore’. In our audits of digital projects, we see this pattern repeatedly. 

"Firms aren't automating to improve the customer experience; they’re doing it to cut costs, banking on the hope that an app can replace human empathy and complex problem-solving. It rarely does. Replacing full branches with ‘Community Bankers’ is just a sticking plaster. 

"We’ve been conditioned to accept zero service. Whether it's fighting a chatbot for 20 minutes or visiting a hollowed-out branch that can't actually process transactions, the friction is often intentional. This isn't modernisation, it's the managed decline of service standards. If you make the physical experience useless, of course people stop coming. That’s not a shift in behaviour, it’s a removal of choice."

Kathryn Read, Business consultant at Kathryn Read Consulting, said aspects of society will struggle.

She added: "This will hit elderly or rural customers hard. Of course it's understandable that the majority of bank traffic is now online, however I went with one of my parents to a Santander branch last August. 

"Mid morning, during the week and the queue was out of the door...just proving that a need is certainly there. It took the girl at the counter around 20 minutes to deal with our requests, after we'd waited almost an hour to reach the front of the queue. 

"Everyone was there with more complicated questions and most were elderly people who certainly don't feel confident doing their banking on the phone, never mind online. Keeping a certain high street presence is definitely important for now at least."

Samuel Mather-Holgate, Managing Director & IFA at Swindon-based Mather and Murray Financial, said people need to accept that high street bank branches are not useful anymore.

He continued: “The public need to get used to bank closures, the 21st century has been upon us for some time now, and archaic facilities to your local teller should be a thing of the past. 

"You can even deposit a cheque on your iPhone now, so as long as there are a couple of banking options in your nearest large town or city this will suffice for the audience it serves. Santander is just the latest to catch up, and this should help its profitability.”