Report outlines plans for credit union near Glasgow

Glasgow Times

20-05-2025

A report by East Renfrewshire Council's director of business operations and partnerships (DBOP) outlining the plan for Barrhead was published this morning (May 20) as part of the agenda items for next Thursday's (May 29) cabinet meeting.
It will be music to the ears of many residents, particularly the elderly and disabled, who have been left reeling at the prospect of their town turning into a banking desert when the Main Street branch of the Bank of Scotland (BoS) closes tomorrow (May 21) with its cash machine also to disappear.
The development has been declared a victory by the founder of the Save the Last Bank campaign who has led a determined fight over the last few months to retain a face-to-face banking presence in Barrhead.
Sean Clerkin praised the council for 'saving the day' and said: 'It's absolutely certain that this will go through so this is a clear victory for the people of Barrhead and everyone who was part of the campaign.
'We are very pleased that East Renfrewshire Council (ERC) has taken such a positive approach to saving face-to-face banking in Barrhead and it validates what the campaign was all about.
'Yes there will be a delay between the closure of the bank this week and the establishment of the credit union but we do know now that there will be a face-to-face banking presence," he added.
'It's a community-based initiative based on the needs of local people and vulnerable people, so hopefully the Bank of Scotland in Barrhead will not be missed going forward."
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Credit unions are not-for-profit savings organisations or co-operatives whose members pool their savings to provide each other with credit at a low interest rate.
East Renfrewshire has been without a local credit union service since the demise of the Barrhead-based Pioneer Mutual Credit Union in 2021, which had 3,500 members at the time of closure.
The DBOP's report states: 'There has been a long-standing commitment to reinstating a credit union back into East Renfrewshire and discussions over several years with potential providers, which have struggled to get beyond scope for online-only provision."
This commitment, it said, has been further strengthened by the closure of the last remaining bank in Barrhead, which also served the broader communities of Neilston and Uplawmoor.
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Specifically, the report asks Cabinet members to give the green light to partnership working with Pollok Credit Union Ltd (PCU), one of the largest community-based credit unions in the West of Scotland, and other community planning partners to re-establish a credit union presence in East Renfrewshire.
PCU's proposal is to establish a branch in Barrhead which would open between three and five days per week and would look for prominent premises, preferably in the Main Street area of the town.
Cabinet members will also be asked to approve 'initial seed-funding of up to £200,000 over three years from the Community Capacity Building Reserve (via the recent top-up from the Investment for the Future Reserve) for the plan.
This will support the start-up costs of the credit union until a break-even position is maintained for a local shop-front branch.
Subject to Cabinet approval, it is planned that the council will work with PCU to identify a possible site for a local branch in Barrhead, which is likely to be a rental site, either council-owned or by a private landlord.
It further states that given pressure on suitable Main Street/central Barrhead locations at the current time, it may be that the credit union is established in temporary premises as soon as possible, but with a view to finding longer-term premises as opportunities arise.
West Scotland MSP Paul O'Kane, who has endeavoured to help retain access to critical services since the bank's closure was announced, also welcomed the news.
'I said from the very beginning that if the bitter blow of losing the branch couldn't be reversed then our focus would turn to ensuring that Barrhead residents would still have access to critical banking services – I am very pleased that the provision of a credit union will give access and support,' he said.
'The Barrhead community, campaigners, Councillor Danny Devlin, Blair McDougall MP, council leader Owen O'Donnell and I have all passionately opposed the loss of the last bank and have worked positively together to ensure ERC take this decisive action.
'I will continue to play my part to ensure that the delivery of the credit union is efficient and timely, but also to explore additional ways Barrhead residents can use banking services locally through hub services including via the Post Office.'