West end residents are in dismay at the unexpected closure of yet another local bank branch.
Calls for TSB to “think again” are being made after customers were told the bank intends to close its Perth Road branch following its Meadowside branch redesign.
Local councillors have condemned the decision and are seeking 11th hour talks with bosses to halt the closure.
Ann Forbes has been a long term customer since the branch was the Dundee Savings Bank in the ‘70s and said she was “absolutely furious”.
She said: “I was so mad when I got the letter saying they had redesigned the Meadowside branch and would be closing the Perth Road branch.
“I don’t think the bank have put much thought into it.
“We have a lot of sheltered housing in our area and a lot of elderly people use that branch.”
Mrs Forbes said she has visits the bank every week and argues it would more convenient for her to get the bus all the way to Broughty Ferry than to go to Meadowside, which is not easily connected by bus.
Another TSB customer, Gregor Ross, said: “It is a shame as people in the community are going to struggle now. There are a lot of older people here and not everyone has a vehicle to drive into the city centre.
“It is quite sad really.”
Councillor Fraser Macpherson said he is meeting with TSB senior management on Tuesday in an attempt to retain the last bank left on Perth Road.
A number of other high profile banks closed their doors in recent years, including the Royal Bank of Scotland.
He said: “To say constituents are unhappy is an understatement.
“What this essentially means is that the last of the local branches in the Perth Road is going.
“There is considerable concern about this in the west end and people are up in arms.
“It is used by a great many people, particularly elderly folk for whom the alternative in Meadowside a few miles away is not at all convenient.”
Fellow west end councillor Richard McCready added: “I am appalled at the decision to close this branch by a bank which uses the slogan ‘Local Banking for Britain’.
“I believe that having a bank amongst the mix of shops is important to promoting the shopping area and attracting footfall.”
A spokeswoman for TSB said the firm is merging the two branches as part of a nationwide review and staff will be relocated.
She said: “It has become clear that local residents have shown a choice in which branch they prefer to use.”
The bank closed 16 branches last year and more are set to close in 2016.