MANAGERS at banking giant Barclays are being urged to pay a visit to Bournemouth to see the effects of an “ill-informed” decision to close its Wallisdown branch.

Independent councillor Ron Whittaker said the closure of the Wallisdown branch had inconvenienced customers and “devastated” the area.

The Bryant Road branch shut on February 27, with customers advised to travel to Winton if they want to speak to someone face-to-face.

But Cllr Whittaker said he had visited Winton, only to find more than 20 customers queuing to see two available staff.

He said it was far more difficult to park in Winton or in the town centre than in Wallisdown and accused the bank of being “more concerned about bonuses than the interests of customers.”

In a letter to Barclays and to Bournemouth West MP Conor Burns, he said Barclays bosses should visit the area to see the impact the closure had had and called for them to consider opening a new Barclays in Kinson.

Barclays community leader for Bournemouth Chris Maynard said: “Taking the decision to close a branch is never easy. It was a local decision and one in which we have worked hard to support our customers in finding alternative ways to undertake their banking, this includes digital and online banking, welcoming customers at alternative branches and local Post Office access.

“At Wallisdown branch, customer usage had dropped by nearly 40 per cent and more than two thirds of customers were already using alternative branches.

“Barclays is still well represented in Bournemouth with branches located in the town centre, Winton, Parkstone, Canford Cliffs, Westbourne, Boscombe and Christchurch.

“We are currently in the process of hiring new staff and once we have a better understanding of where our customers are now choosing to bank with us we will put additional resources in place as quickly as possible.”

He said Barclays would continue to run Digital Eagles sessions for customers who want to understand more about on-line and mobile banking.