Overview
- LINK confirmed four new hubs: Leighton Buzzard, Ormskirk, Wilmslow and Whitehaven, with Leighton Buzzard designated the 250th recommendation.
- Santander plans to close branches in those towns by the end of January 2027, including Whitehaven’s last national bank branch.
- Cash Access UK will deliver the Whitehaven site, starting community engagement and a search for premises that typically takes up to a year.
- When open, hubs provide a Post Office-run counter for withdrawals, deposits and bill payments, plus rotating visits from community bankers and business deposit services.
- Around 210 hubs are already open across the UK, and Whitehaven would be the fourth recommended location in Cumbria after Cockermouth, Maryport and Ulverston.