'Our seaside town has been abandoned - we don't even have a bank anymore'

Shops prevarication bare and "all the banks person closed" successful the East Sussex municipality of Bexhill-on-Sea with a driblet successful footfall, and section businesses are present begging for "regeneration"

Angry residents of an "abandoned" municipality wherever "all the banks are closed" accidental they aren't being listened to - and adjacent the Post Office is present going.

Bexhill-on-Sea successful East Sussex is struggling with businesses taking a immense deed successful the seaside municipality owed to the deficiency of footfall and galore owners are begging for "regeneration".

Despite having 3 councils to collaborate connected improving the area, residents accidental "they're not listening to the town" with "local businesses having obscurity to bank".

"If you talk to a batch of store owners you'll present spot a batch of empty shops around. There's much and much shops closing, each the banks person present closed - we've conscionable recovered retired contiguous that our station bureau is going to beryllium closed. Local businesses person obscurity to bank," said Luke Oliver, proprietor of Sweets On Sea.

Lloyds Bank, HSBC and NatWest are among the companies who person closed their doors for bully implicit the past years, leaving the entrepreneurs of Bexhill incapable to entree section banks.

"It's getting worse due to the fact that of the section councils - excessively galore councils successful the town. We've got East Sussex County Council, Rother District Council and present Bexhill Town Council and they're each warring each other," Mr Oliver, 48, told the Express. "They're not listening to the town, it needs regeneration. There's been a diminution successful customers."

Bexhill has a colonisation of conscionable implicit 40,000 residents with 34% being implicit 65 years old. Many locals beryllium connected precocious thoroughfare shops for their supplies who are incapable to entree ample stores extracurricular of town.

On Wednesday the Post Office announced 115 subdivision closures with Bexhill being connected the list. One resident, Andrew Cotty, claims helium volition beryllium "out determination time and nighttime with a petition, similar I did for the nationalist toilets" if it does close. "There person been tons of changes but not bully ones, not for the businesses," helium added.

Local Conservative MP Dr Kieran Mullan has launched a petition successful protestation to this: "The nonaccomplishment of 4 large banks from our precocious streets has had a large interaction connected the municipality and residents were told that their time to time banking needs could beryllium met by the Post Office. It is truthful captious that we bash not suffer this work oregon the highly experienced Post Office unit who recognize and service the assemblage truthful well."

The 'Save Bexhill Post Office' is disposable to radical to motion until December 31, 2024. Being conscionable a 30 infinitesimal thrust to Eastbourne and a 20 infinitesimal thrust to Hastings, 2 larger Sussex towns, section businesses are uncovering it harder to vie to bring outer visitors to their shops.

Local butcher Sean Piper says: "There's a batch of retired radical that unrecorded present truthful it's precise quiet. People thin to spell to Eastbourne oregon Hastings." Piper, 57, explains however this Summer has been "slightly" quieter. "You bash locomotion astir the streets and spot rather a batch of bare shops astatine the moment," helium adds.