On Friday, 19th April I was invited to visit the Weston Favell branch of Nationwide Building Society to celebrate the branch’s 50th anniversary.
Nationwide have a large administrative headquarters in Northampton at Moulton Park as well as several branches in Northampton itself.
I was very pleased to visit their Weston Favell premises, which serves over 54,000 people in my Northampton North constituency alone. 76% of households in Northampton North having at least one Nationwide customer living there. In 2022-23 they helped 100 first-time buyers in Northampton North.
A number of constituents have been in contact with me with their concerns about Banks closing branches and moving all their services online. This is not convenient for everyone so it is excellent news that Nationwide have publicly announced that they are guaranteeing they will maintain a physical presence on the high street until at least the year 2028. Nationwide also do very good work assisting their customers to avoid scams and fraud and this is hugely important work.
I met several staff at the bank and it is clear it is a very happy enterprise; one staff member has been with the branch for 49 years, (almost since it opened!) and I spoke to another staff member who had happily been working with Nationwide for 35 years.
(Photo 1: Sir Michael Ellis MP with (right) Gareth Francoise (Senior Branch Manager) and (left) Hector Gregersen (Deputy Branch Manager) of Nationwide Weston Favell branch.)
(Photo 2: Sir Michael Ellis MP behind the counter at Nationwide Weston Favell with Debbie who has worked for Nationwide for 35 years)