LOCHS councillor Alex Campbell this week pledged to fight the proposed closure of the RBS branch in Kelty’s Main Street.

LOCHS councillor Alex Campbell this week pledged to fight the proposed closure of the RBS branch in Kelty’s Main Street.

Mr Campbell, pictured outside the branch which is earmarked to close on 1st September, said that this decision had been taken without any consultation with the people of the village.

He said that it would be senior citizens who would suffer most from the move and he added that he will join with Kelty Community Council, and anyone else, to fight the closure.

The councillor said that the people who would suffer most from the decision were senior citizens who relied on being able to visit a bank to carry out their business.

The RBS said on Wednesday that they had taken the ‘difficult decision’ to close their branches in, Kelty, Elie, Aberdour, and St Andrews Crail and Newburgh.

Said an RBS spokesperson, “We are working hard to ensure there are a number of alternative ways for people in the area to continue to bank with us including the Post Office.

“We have reached an agreement with the local Post Office, which is close to the Kelty branch, so that our customers can check their balance, deposit and withdraw funds, and business customers can get coinage.

“We are also introducing a Mobile Branch service to these communities and we will be engaging with our customers and the local community to understand the best day and time for the mobile branch to visit”.

The spokesperson said that falling transactions played a part in the decision with Kelty business down 16 per cent since 2011 and added that the Cowdenbeath RBS branch was only 2.6 miles away and that they would keep the ATM in the village open.

But Councillor Campbell said, “This branch has been part of Kelty for over 70 years and now they have decided to up anchor without any discussions at all.

“There are around 19 businesses in the village who rely on it and hundreds of people. “I have been inundated with calls, mostly from senior citizens, concerned about having to travel to Cowdenbeath for banking requirements, and for some this will prove very difficult if not impossible.

“Internet banking is fine for people who are IT literate but for many older peoople it is a bridge too far and after all the computer cannot pay-out money.

“I will work with the community council and anyone else to try and make the RBS see sense. I notice they have mentioned a mobile option but that will cover probably one day a week, which is not good enough” Councillor Campbell is considering starting a petition aiming at getting over the strength of public opinion on this issue.