At yesterday’s Council meeting, Councillor Graham Golding asked the Leader of the Council for an update on banking in Huyton, following the announcement that Lloyds Banking Group will be closing branches of Lloyd Bank the Halifax in Huyton Village Centre and the detrimental impact this will have in the area.
Cllr Morgan agreed that the closure will have a detrimental impact on residents and businesses and confirmed that the Council does not have any control over the decisions made by banks. However, the Council is lobbying against such decisions and will work to bring about improvements and measures to mitigate the impact, such as the banking hub introduced in Prescot which is located in a Council-owned building, and also arrangements for a new Banking Hub which are being finalised for a site in Kirkby town centre.
Cllr Graham Morgan, Leader of Knowsley Council, said: “Sadly, when the closure of Lloyds and Halifax was announced in Huyton, the assessment of local banking facilities carried out by LINK on behalf of the banks did not recommend the establishment of a Banking Hub in Huyton Village. Based on flawed data on the challenges facing some of our residents, local public transport links and our small business community, I immediately wrote to the Chief Executive of LINK setting out my concerns and provided fresh data for their assessment. I also offered our support in seeking out suitable premises, as we have done in Prescot and Kirkby. I was extremely disappointed to hear back from him to say that they are not intending to alter their recommendation and repeating more of the same flawed information again.
“I have again written to him setting out in even greater detail how their information is wrong and seeking their support in recommending a Banking Hub for Huyton Village. I have heard back this week that this issue has now been escalated to a formal complaint by them.
“I have also briefed and gained support from our local MPs. We await the outcome of the complaint, but I and this Council will do everything we can to continue to lobby for a Banking Hub for Huyton.”
Whilst a response is awaited, the Council is looking at other support options available including digital support through the library services, banking outreach, enhanced post office services or more.
You can read Cllr Morgan’s letter dated 22 June 2026 here, the response from LINK dated 26 June 2026 here and the further letter from Cllr Morgan dated 10 July 2026 here.