In recent years, Calne has lost at least four Cashpoint machines. Three when Lloyds Bank closed, one when the Coop shut and no doubt others have been lost in the past when Barclays & HSBC closed their branches too.
Calne town centre now only has two cash points, one at Sainburys and one at the nearby petrol station on Oxford road, by the roundabout. Both often run out of cash or stop working for other reasons.
Whilst in today’s society, cashless payment methods are becoming increasingly popular and this may be convenient for most of you, it is causing major problems for those who rely on cash to budget their finances, especially in light of the cost of living crisis. Many others just want to see the cash in their hand or don’t trust the banks.
Calne hosts many events in the town, where cash is often used in abundance, such as the Bike Meet, Summer Carnival and Festival of Lights to name a few. During these events, the two remaining cash points have often run out of money, which means people either have to resort to cash back or queuing at the post office.
We almost lost our post office, when the parent company of the Martins Convenience Store (Macolls) went into administration and the Post office itself, is also not open on Sundays and bank holidays, so what happens then?
On the weekend of 28th and 29th January 2023, both cash points were not working, well into Monday morning, which meant some of our local businesses, which rely on cash for either most or even all of their income, suffered reduced footfall and income.
So what are your thoughts? Do you use cash? Is it readily available to you? Do we need more cash points in the town centre or has what we’ve got enough? Would you be willing to pay to get access to your cash?
I am still investigating with officers of Calne Town Council, what we can do about it, (if anything).