harpenden town council celebrates banking hub campaign success

Harpenden Town Council is delighted to have received confirmation this morning that Harpenden has been allocated a Banking Hub. This announcement follows close to three years work by the Town Council to secure what will be a vital community asset.

Back in February 2023, the Town Council made an application to the relevant bodies setting out the case for a Banking Hub in Harpenden. Unfortunately this application was rejected due to criteria imposed on assessors that we believed were not fit for purpose. Rather than accepting this knock back, the Town Council embarked on a lobbying campaign for changes to the criteria that would see a Banking Hub secured for the Town. This has included liaison with the previous and current Government and national financial institutions including the Financial Conduct Authority.

Councillor Pip Liver, Mayor of Harpenden, said “Confirmation that a Harpenden Banking Hub will go ahead is excellent news for our Town. The diminishing banking services has been hugely detrimental to residents and small businesses in Harpenden and neighbouring villages who rely heavily on Harpenden Town Centre. The Town Council’s resilience in its campaign to secure the Banking Hub has now been rewarded and will make an incredible difference. We would particularly like to express our gratitude to local resident and industry expert, Derek French, who has played a vital role in securing this essential service.”

Whilst this is great news for Harpenden, we are also pleased that our perseverance for change, could lead to the removal of blocks in other similar Towns across the Country.

We will now work closely with those responsible for setting up the Banking Hub to help ensure that it is in place as soon as possible. The next stage of this project, leading to a hub opening, does take time and the first step is to find a suitable venue that is accessible to residents and local businesses.

Read the Press Release in full