IT is all well and good people complaining about the closure of traditional businesses on our high street but we are the cause of the problem as well as the solution.

Too often, our first port of call for our shopping is the internet which has become so reliable over recent years. There is no need to leave the house, yet we still bemoan shops closing.

In Bedale, we have seen the closure of the NatWest bank and, more recently, the HSBC bank. Our last remaining bank, Barclays, is only open on certain days. Like many people, I use internet banking and didn’t really use my bank, except to pay in the occasional cheque, so I suppose I cannot complain.

Last week, in my beloved Sunderland, I went into the NatWest flagship branch in Fawcett Street and was amazed to see all the cashier tills had been removed to be replaced by impersonal machines. I only wanted to pay in a cheque and was staggered to be shown to a machine which accepted my cheque and deposited it into my account in a matter of seconds.

This got me thinking about a possible new opportunity for banking in places like Bedale. There has been an empty shop, formerly occupied by Thompson’s butchers/baker, in a prime location in the middle of the market place. For minimal investment, I am sure NatWest, HSBC and possibly Barclays, if they are looking to reduce their presence in Bedale, could share the facility by installing their own paying in and cash withdrawal machines.

This would maintain their brands in Bedale and provide the service we all need, as well as sharing the costs between themselves.

Will it happen? I doubt it, but it would be nice if it did.

H Martyn Coombs, Bedale