Six regional Barnsley and Yorkshire Building Society branches to close

Barnsley Building Society branches in Cudworth, Doncaster, Mexborough, Rotherham and Wombwell will all shut. The Yorkshire Building Society branch in Barnsley will also close.

The Barnsley Building Society and Chelsea Building Society names will disappear from the high street and those branches are to be rebranded as the Yorkshire Building Society.

The Yorkshire Building Society Group is closing 22 branches all together across the UK as part of the overhaul.

Rated as the country’s second largest building society behind Nationwide, YBS said the closures largely fall where branches are less than a mile apart.

The group said most staff at the affected branches will be redeployed, putting just 13 jobs at risk.

It added there were 18 locations where one of the three brands were close to each other and in each case only a Yorkshire Building Society would survive, to be used by members of all three societies.

Chris Pilling, chief executive of Yorkshire Building Society, claimed the reorganisation will mean a more efficient business and result in improved service for customers.

He said: “Our branch network always has been, and remains, at the heart of our business, providing the face-to-face service that many of our members prefer.

“These planned changes will make us more efficient and will deliver greater long-term value to both new and existing members.

“They will also help us to support the changing needs of our members.”

The group merged with the Barnsley Building Society in 2008 and tied up with the Chelsea Building Society two years later.

It has around 220 branches nationwide.

The group said its 45 Norwich & Peterborough Building Society branches are not affected by the rebranding plan.