FEATURE Rural life
No one is an island
Essential services keep us connected – that’s why we fight for them
For those of us that live in the cities or suburbs the ability to make a quick dash to the corner shop for a pint of milk or have access to our bank branch is something we often take for granted.
It’s different in rural and island communities where a local shop or bank is more than what it says above the door. In rural Scotland getting the ‘messages’ (shopping) also means bumping into friends and neighbours,
talking about local happenings, getting updates on community or global events, as well as on births and deaths. These small but important stores feed the beating heart of a rural community. They provide a service way beyond profit, one of connectivity and community.
Rural Scotland which accounts for 98 per cent of Scotland’s land mass hosts around 15 per cent of Scotland’s population. An area with no local facilities means driving between 15 minutes and an hour or taking a ferry. Provided there is a ferry available. Up here where cancellations mean an increase in time and petrol for the extended journey and family budgets, rural closures can be life altering.
Community heart – Lismore Trust raised over £80k to take over shop
In the past most small towns across Scotland had a bank branch, but during the 2010s their number reduced by a third. Often replaced by mobile van banks, this
24 uniteLANDWORKER Spring 2024
service will be stopped in the first half of 2024.
According to Lloyds Bank, visits to the mobile bank have fallen by 90 per cent since 2018. That might be something to do with the timings of these mobile banking vans. For example, in the small town nearest the Aberdeenshire village where I grew up, the bank branch was replaced with a mobile bank. It now appears for just half an hour in the middle of a Friday afternoon, every two weeks. Across rural areas of Scotland this short stay and fortnightly timing is not unusual, nor is the timing overly convenient for those who want to use their services.
The decision to close the mobile bank comes after Lloyds revealed plans to cut 1,600 jobs. Lloyds say that just eight per cent of its customers choose to visit high street branches as the sole way to manage their money. They argue customers can still do their banking online, over the phone, or at a Post Office or at over 1,000 branches across the UK.
Yet two in five who use the mobile bank don’t use internet or telephone
Jane Hough/Lismore Community Trust
Getty Images
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