The National Rural Conference 2025

Bookings are now officially open for the National Rural Conference 2025, which will take place online from Monday 15 to Thursday 18 September.
This is the Rural Services Network’s flagship event of the year, bringing together rural decision-makers, practitioners, and advocates for four days of live, interactive sessions focused on the future of rural communities.
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Two-thirds of UK bank branches lost

New analysis from Which? suggests that nearly two thirds of the UK’s bank branches have closed over the past 30 years, the Mirror reports.

Parliamentary records show that in 1988 there were 20,583 bank and building society branches across the UK, a number that has today dropped to 7,586.

Which? data notes that 19 per cent of people now live more than three kilometres from their nearest bank with a further eight per cent travelling more than five kilometres.

The article highlights that many people can now access their banking services through Post Office branches, however 45 per cent of respondents said they were unaware of this.

Full article:

→ The Mirror - Incredible 12,997 banks closed as UK loses two in every three branches