A new type of bank designed to plug the gap left by the decline of the traditional high street branch is not being rolled out quickly enough in Lancashire.

County councillors say Lancashire needs more so-called ‘banking hubs’ to maintain a face-to face service in town centres deserted by mainstream banks.

So far only two of the facilities have launched in the county - in Great Harwood and Barnoldswick - while another four are in the pipeline.

The hubs provide banking services across a range of high street providers for people and businesses who either need or prefer to deal in cash, as well as to maintain access for elderly and disabled residents who might find it difficult or undesirable to make the switch to digital banking.

County councillors have agreed to set up a working group to explore how the creation of banking hubs could be accelerated in areas most affected by the dismantling of the branch network.

County Cllr Matthew Maxwell-Scott, who brought forward the proposal, said: “With the exception, perhaps, of our largest towns, the bank is finished…but banking isn’t – and this is a way of keeping it going.”

He added that “some pressure” should be put on Cash Access UK, the organisation behind the new hubs – which are run by and use Post Office branding – to speed up the delivery of the facilities in Lancashire.

Further hubs are planned for Bacup, Darwen, Kirkham and Morecambe, but only the latter yet has an expected opening date – next September.

Banking hubs open from 9am to 5pm, Monday to Friday, and some have ‘community bankers’ from individual bank brands who visit on a set day, so customers can speak to someone from their own bank about more complicated enquiries.

More than 6,000 bank branches have closed across the UK since 2015, according to figures published by the consumer group Which earlier this year.

County Cllr Noordad Aziz told the meeting the next issue that needed to be dealt with was the availability of cash outside banking hub hours.

“If you look at the number of free-to-use cash machines that have disappeared from our high streets across the county, they are significant,” he said, adding that those machines which levy a fee for use can charge “a significant amount of money.”