Former HSBC building in Chippenham available after closure

HSBC permanently closed its Chippenham Market Place branch on August 15 last year amidst a cull of 114 other sites across the UK.

The closure sparked disappointment amongst residents and councillors who said it was a blow for those who prefer to bank in person.

Since then, the imposing building, which sits next to the former Burton store currently being partially converted into flats, has sat empty.

It remains listed as available to let for a price of £3,250 per month at the time of writing and is being marketed by Stibbard Property.

The unit is described as a “highly prominent” property located in a “prime” retail area at the heart of the town.

READ MORE: Disappointment as town centre bank closes permanently

The empty HSBC branch in Chippenham (Image: Newsquest)

While some were left saddened by HSBC’s departure, the banking chain said it had seen a decline in footfall at its branches across the UK.

At the time of the announcement, managing director of UK distribution Jackie Uhi said: "People are changing the way they bank and footfall in many branches is at an all-time low, with no signs of it returning.

“Banking remotely is becoming the norm for the vast majority of us.

“The decision to close a branch is never easy or taken lightly, especially if we are the last branch in an area, so we’ve invested heavily in our ‘post-closure’ strategy, including providing free tablet devices to selected branch customers who do not already have a device to bank digitally, alongside one-to-one coaching to help them migrate to digital banking.”

HSBC still has a branch in Devizes, which was recently refurbished.

Following the closure, Cllr Nic Puntis, who owns the neighbouring Sarah-Jayne’s Cafe, spoke of his disappointment but insisted that he was not concerned about the impact of the loss on other businesses in the area.

The empty HSBC branch in Chippenham (Image: Rightmove)

He said: “Nobody I represent has come to me directly about it and I understand it commercially because the majority of people want to bank online so only a small proportion of people are affected.

“But I think any High Street bank closing is a bad thing because they’re not just for elderly people.

“People like to see someone if they’re talking about their mortgage, or investing, or borrowing, and they will have a better relationship with their bank in person so it’s a shame.”