Nearly 400 towns and cities across the UK have been told over the past two years that their last local bank was about to close, new research shows.

Labor has warned of concerns that many areas of the country are turning into “banking deserts” as branches close.

Since the start of 2022, major banks including Barclays, NatWest and Lloyds have closed or announced the closure of 388 branches in areas with no other nearby options.

The drop in services means people in towns such as Weston in Bolton, Chapeltown in Sheffield and Todmorden in Calderdale have no face-to-face banking services close to home at all.

independent This map has been compiled below showing the local authority areas where the last bank in the area has closed since 2022. The red area shows local authority areas where banks are closed.

Labor also found that 55 towns and cities across the UK remained unbanked this Easter, despite promises to create “banking hubs” as part of the Conservative government’s voluntary arrangements with banks more than six months ago.

Readers can also search their town or zip code in the table below to find out if the last bank in their area has closed or will close in the near future.

Late last year, Labor pledged to empower the Financial Conduct Authority to speed up the rollout of banking hubs and stop people falling into “banking deserts” by guaranteeing communities access to face-to-face banking services.

The government had previously promised to set up banking centres, but only 40 have been opened so far.

Banking centers operated by the Post Office provide face-to-face services where customers of all major banks can withdraw and deposit cash, pay bills and carry out regular banking transactions.

Nearly 100 centers will be open by the end of the year, but Labor says it plans to open at least 350.

Tulip Siddiq MP, Labour’s shadow cities minister, said: “The government’s failure to roll out banking hubs is contributing to the decline of Britain’s high streets and leaving hundreds of thousands of people and small businesses without access to the services they need.

“Almost 6,000 bank branches have closed since 2015, but under the Conservatives only 40 banking centers are still operating, despite many towns committing to new banking services months ago.

“Labour’s plans will return banking services to communities that have disappeared in recent years, meaning more people and small businesses across the country will be able to access the services they need closer to home.

“Labour will tackle ghost high streets and ensure every community has access to high street banking.”

Caroline Abrahams, charity director at Age UK, said: “The days of each bank having its own branch on the high street are over, but shared banking centers can be a suitable replacement – as long as they are implemented at a sufficient pace roll out.

“With so many older people not using online banking and instead relying on face-to-face for at least some types of transactions, we believe there should be more shared centers and they should be up and running before the last bank in the area were allowed to close at a time when many elderly patrons are often left stranded.”

A Treasury spokesman said: “We know cash remains king for many people, which is why we are protecting access to cash in law – legislation protecting the rights of individuals and businesses to access cash withdrawal and deposit facilities.

“This will support businesses to continue to accept cash by ensuring they have reasonable access to deposit cash.”