ONE of the last remaining banks in Ulverston has shut its doors for the final time.

Barclays in County Square closed for the final time on Friday following a ‘sustained fall’ in branch visits.

The bank’s closure is the third bank to close its doors in Ulverston in the past five years, after HSBC and Natwest shut in 2016 and 2017 respectively.

Barclays’ closure means Lloyds, Cumberland Building Society and Furness Building Society are now the only three remaining banks in Ulverston.

A Barclays spokesman said although the decision to close a branch is 'never an easy one', customers are increasingly using alternatives to branches to do their banking.

Barclays said they will be ‘proactively engaging’ with local businesses and the wider community to discuss the alternative ways customers will be able to undertake their banking locally.

They will also be offering virtual ‘tea and teach’ sessions for customers wishing to explore digital banking and other alternatives to branch based banking

Bob Brown, mayor of Ulverston, said he is 'disappointed' for the community following the bank's closure.

He said: "Whilst I recognise that banks, like all businesses, will make their decisions based on their business needs, I am disappointed for the community that they serve.

"Yet another bank has decided to pull out of Ulverston. I know that many businesses are now using mainly electronic forms of payment, but this decision is very frustrating for those local businesses that still deal in cash.

"The removal of yet another cash machine again reduces the choice for where people can get hold of their cash. Only yesterday I was speaking to an elderly Barclays customer who was very sad that he had now made his last journey to his local branch.

"He said that he always enjoyed the smiling and helpful staff that he dealt with and was sad that this would no longer be there. It’s this sort of effect on ordinary customers, at a very human level, that disappoints me most."

The next nearest Barclays branch available is 86-90 Dalton Road, Barrow.

The Windermere branch for Barclays will also close on January 27 after seeing a 26 per cent reduction in footfall in the two years.

The Kirkby Lonsdale branch will also close on January 25 after a 30 per cent reduction in footfall.