Work is moving quickly on the permanent banking hub on Stone High Street, with operators confirming that a soft opening will take place on Friday, 4th July, ahead of an official launch on Friday, 11th July.
The new facility is located at 42-44 High Street, in the former Betfred building. It’s been designed to provide essential in-person banking services for customers of major banks, offering a central space for over-the-counter transactions and support.
A photo taken today shows signage now installed and internal fit-out well underway.
When open, the hub will include:
- a customer service counter
- private meeting rooms
- step-free access from the pavement
The rear of the building is also being converted into a new studio flat, as part of the same planning application.
Supporting the town
With the last remaining bank branch in Stone closing in September 2024, the new hub fills an important gap on the High Street.
“This is a real investment in the community,” said a representative from the banking hub team. “It’s here to serve local people and support small businesses, so we really hope residents and local businesses will make good use of it.”
The permanent hub replaces the temporary facility at the Frank Jordan Centre, which has been providing rotating in-person services from major banks since summer 2024.
Although the signage includes the Post Office logo, it’s important to note that this is purely in relation to banking services. The site will not offer any traditional Post Office facilities such as mail handling, stamps or parcels. Similarly, while customers will be able to withdraw and deposit cash over the counter, there will be no cash machine on site.
This move into the town centre puts the service front and centre for local people and offers a long-term solution to the lack of face-to-face banking provision.
We’ll bring you more details as the launch date approaches.
