JOBS are to go at Skipton Building Society as it axes eight branches, including Earby and an "agency" office in Station Road, Grassington.

Untouched is Skipton town centre branch but Earby office with three staff is to close on on Friday, September 22.

Pendle council's David Whipp is to call on SBS bosses to think again about the closure in the wake of the town's regeneration.

He said: "The loss of the last ‘bank’ in the town is a massive blow to residents and traders.

"I’m asking for an urgent meeting with the hope that SBS will review their plans and decide to keep Earby’s branch open."

As well as Grassington, two other agencies will also fold - Hawes and Leyburn - and the move is expected to see an overall loss of 33 jobs. Also for the chop are Blackpool, Newby, Ivybridge, Heswall, Rochdale, Wickersley and Norwich.

No direct SBS jobs will be lost in Grassington where the branch works as an agency from another business.

Craven Councillor Richard Foster said he was sorry to see the loss of the service in Grassington.

"For our banking we're now down to three days at Barclays in the village and the Post Office. It makes you wonder how long the bank will stay?"

An SBS spokesman said over the past two years branch transactions in Earby had significantly reduced and people generally preferred to use digital and telephone services.

And in Grassington it was becoming increasingly difficult to offer a consistent service to customers as the agency did not have access to Skipton’s systems.

In the same period SBS had seen a 65 percent increase in online transactions, mirroring industry trends and had handled over 10,000 more enquiries into the Skipton Direct team via calls, webchat and secure email where 145 jobs had been created.

Andrew Bottomley, Skipton’s director of distribution and financial advice, said: “We’ve been so proud to serve our customers in person in these areas and have held off for as long as we can.

“Our focus now is to do everything we can to support our team members affected by this news and our customers whom we have personally written to and explained what’s happening and how we can continue to meet their financial needs.”