A COLCHESTER bank is set to close after being open for more than 40 years.

Barclays is planning to shut its branch, in St Christopher Road, in St John's.

The banking giant says it is in response to a decline in customer use.

Bosses also say more than two-thirds of customers "regularly use" other branches and have pointed existing customers to the branch in Colchester High Street.

But the decision had been questioned by Paul Smith (Lib Dem), Colchester councillor for St John's.

He said: "It is a very long-standing bank and it has been considerably upgraded so Barclays has invested in it so it's difficult to understand why they want to close it."

He added: "Given the age in the area, the profile is an elderly one, which means there are mobility issues with getting to the town centre and they are less likely to have good computer skills to use internet banking."

Mr Smith also said they closure would impact on businesses which use the branch to lodge and withdraw large amounts of cash rather than going to High Street.

A spokeswoman for Barclays said: "The way customers undertake their banking is changing as people increasingly use online, telephone and mobile devices.

"At Barclays St John’s, Colchester branch, customer usage has continued to decline and 67 per cent of our customers now regularly use alternative branches, which is why we have taken the difficult decision to close it.

"We hope that the availability of our other Barclays branch at High Street, Colchester, which is located just over 3 miles away, and access to services at the local Post Office, in Ipswich Road, along with our range of digital channels will help to ease the transition for our customers."

The branch will be closed on September 30.