A major revamp of The Cumberland Building society’s Whitehaven branch will begin this month.
The Lowther Street branch will close for around 20 weeks, from Saturday May 30, for the work to be carried out.
During that time, The Cumberland will offer weekly drop-in sessions in Whitehaven and extend opening hours at its Egremont and Cleator Moor branches.
The Cumberland will also host customer engagement events in Whitehaven branch before the refurbishment, on Thursday May 21, Tuesday May 26 and Thursday May 28 from 5pm to 7pm.
People can chat with Cumberland staff about how they will be supported during the refurbishment.
Victoria Rose, the Cumberland’s Cluster Manager for west coast branches, said: “We plan on being in Whitehaven for the long term so we’re investing to make the branch sustainable for the future. It’s a complete refurbishment to create a better, calmer, environment for customers and colleagues.
“We’re improving disabled access, creating a new layout with more space for private conversations, improved lighting, and technical upgrades.
“The new look branch will be a modern, welcoming space, and the décor will reflect our local area.”
It will soon be the last current and business account provider with a branch in Whitehaven following Santander’s announced branch closure.
Santander has yet to confirm the closure date, but it will be no later than January when Whitehaven will become the largest town in Cumbria – and one of the largest in England – not to have a high street bank.
The Whitehaven refurbishment follows those at Maryport, Egremont, Carlisle city centre, Carlisle Rosehill, Annan, Preston and most recently Barrow.
Victoria added: “We need our branches so customers can talk to us face-to-face, whether it be about savings, mortgages or current accounts.
“It’s about choice. We do have online banking and a mobile app, but you can still come and see us. Our customers like having that choice and it makes us different from the banks, even though we offer banking services.”
The branch ATM will be out of action during the temporary closure, but the nearest free ATM is on King Street.
The Cleator Moor and Egremont branches, which usually open three days a week, will open 9.30am to 4pm Monday to Friday while Whitehaven is closed for refurbishment.
Egremont will open 9am to noon on Saturdays.
The Workington branch, on Pow Street, is also open six days a week.
