NATWEST is to shut one of its Bradford city centre branches and its branches in Bingley and Otley as part of nationwide closure plans.

The bank’s Hustlergate and Otley sites will close on October 2 this year and its branch in Main Street, Bingley, will close on June 20.

NatWest employs 28 people at the Hustlergate branch, 12 in Bingley and four in Otley, but could not confirm how many jobs were under threat. NatWest blamed the closures on the increase in people choosing to bank online.

The closures are part of a plan to shut 158 Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) and NatWest branches across the UK, which will hit around 470 jobs. Around 770 staff will be affected, but 300 will be moved to other roles.

Howard Martin, honorary president of Bingley Chamber of Trade and Commerce, said NatWest’s closure in the town was a big blow.

He said: “It is a very prominent site. It is very sad to see it close. NatWest has been in Bingley for as long as I can remember. It has been my personal bank for more than 40 years.

“But it is a sign of the times that it is closing, as more and more people are doing online transactions.

“It has been one of the longest-serving banks in the town.

“I hope it does not remain empty for too long.”

NatWest plans to turn its Market Street, Bradford, branch, used mainly for business meetings and transactions, into its main city centre branch.

A NatWest spokesman said: “Since 2011 we have seen the number of transactions in the Bingley branch decline by 19 per cent and in the Bradford City Centre branch decline by 26 per cent.

“Customers at our Bingley branch are actively choosing to bank in different ways, with 66.9 per cent of customers choosing to use our digital banking options.”

At the Bradford city centre branch, 72.1 per cent of customers used digital banking options.

“We are doing everything we can to support our staff at the three branches, including seeking redeployment opportunities wherever possible and ensuring that compulsory redundancies are kept to a minimum.”

NatWest’s customers have been urged to use its branches in Market Street, Bradford, and Shipley.

Meanwhile, Leeds North West MP Greg Mulholland has written to Ross McEwan, chief executive at RBS, the owner of NatWest, to urge them to reconsider the closures, particularly in Otley.

He said: “The continued closures of local branches by banks is of huge concern, particularly in Otley, where NatWest have now followed the lead of TSB and HSBC, leaving the people of Otley with even less choice.”