News

Full list of Lloyds and Halifax bank branches set to close in Greater Manchester

Banking is changing.

Emily Sergeant Emily Sergeant - 30th January 2025

Lloyds Banking Group has announced that it will be closing dozens of high street banking branches across the UK.

As the group, which owns Lloyds, Halifax, and Bank of Scotland, accelerates its plans to cut costs and digitise banking, a total of 136 branches nationwide are set to close permanently between May of this year and March 2026 – with 61 Lloyds branches, 61 Halifax, and 14 Bank of Scotland branches affected.

Six branches in Greater Manchester are set to close, along with several more across the North West.

Lloyds says its decision to shut the high street branches is due to customers shifting away from banking in-person, and preferring to use mobile services instead.

The announcement that 136 branches are set to close also comes weeks after Lloyds decided to allow customers of either Lloyds, Halifax, and Bank of Scotland to use the sites across any of its brands for in-person banking.

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The six Greater Manchester branches set to close before May 2026 are:

Lloyds

  • Farnworth, Bolton
  • Bury
  • Newton Heath
  • Moston

Halifax

  • Bolton
  • Walkden
The full list of Lloyds and Halifax bank branches set to close in Greater Manchester has been released / Credit: Unsplash | PickPik

Some of the other North West branches of both Lloyds and Halifax listed to be closing include a number in major Lancashire towns such as Blackpool, Southport, and St Annes, as well as some in Cheshire like Wilmslow and Northwich, and some in Merseyside and on the Wirral.

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Lloyds said that transactions across these particular branches fell by an average of 48% over the past five years, with customers using app payments more frequently.

“Over 20 million customers are using our apps for on-demand access to their money, and customers have more choice and flexibility than ever for their day-to-day banking,” a spokesperson for Lloyds Banking Group said as the closure announcement was made.

“Alongside our apps, customers can also use telephone banking, visit a community banker or use any Lloyds, Halifax, or Bank of Scotland branch.

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“Customers can also do their everyday banking at over 11,000 branches of the Post Office or in a Banking Hub.”

Featured Image – Nick Pampoukidis (via Unsplash)

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Manchester City reveal name, official partner and more images of huge new Etihad Stadium hotel

Danny Jones Danny Jones New Manchester City Etihad Stadium hotel The Medlock

Manchester City have officially revealed the hotel partner for their upcoming resort and entertainment destination at the Etihad Stadium.

The Eithad renovations have been underway for some time now, with Man City not only looking to expand their home ground capacity but deliver some major renovations to the stadium complex and wider campus, including a museum, ‘sky bar’ and, most notably, a brand-new on-site hotel.

Anyone travelling through or even near the major development and increasingly popular tourist destination, especially given Co-op Live’s colossal presence over in East Manchester, will have seen the bare bones of the hotel being constructed – but now we know what it will be called and who is running it.

Confirmed on Wednesday, 5 March, City’s new Etihad Stadium hotel will be called ‘The Medlock’ and is set to be operated by the global hospitality company, Radisson.

As you can see from the new CGI images, supporters and visitors to the area, in general, have now been given another glimpse at the vision of what The Medlock will look like.

Featuring a total of 401 rooms, a range of suites, deluxe and standard rooms, not to mention a luxury penthouse offering, the latest addition to the Radisson Hotel Group will immediately become one of the biggest in the region when it is completed.

Estimated to open towards the latter end of 2026, guests staying at the Etihad’s Medlock hotel will also have access to a wide variety of food and drink outlets, a roof walk akin to the kind seen at Spurs’ stadium built back in 2019, as well as tour experiences at the aforementioned new museum space.

The project will also see commercial office space in the expanded stadium area, with a wide range of conference and event options.

As one of the world’s largest hoteliers (1,520 venues, to be specific), The Medlock is set to join the Radisson Blu and Radisson Hotel portfolio as a four-star establishment, with the upper-upscale hotel being overseen by industry-recognized hotel management company, Valor Hospitality.

Speaking in an official statement as part of the announcement, City Football Group (CFG) CEO Roel de Vries said: “Today’s announcement is an exciting moment as we reveal the name of our hotel as ‘The Medlock’ and welcome globally renowned hotelier, Radisson Hotel Group to the Etihad Campus. 

“Radisson’s enthusiasm and passion for the Club’s hotel project is clear, and we firmly believe that Radisson’s industry experience together with the Club’s ambition and vision for the hotel is the perfect combination.

“We look forward to working with Radisson as we move towards the opening of the hotel and a year-round sports and entertainment destination that our fans and visitors from both the UK and around the world can enjoy.”

As for Radison, Executive Vice President and Global Chief Development Officer, Elie Younes added: “Our brands are always relevant to both our owners and our guests. We are thrilled to collaborate with Manchester City Football Club and create a global flagship hotel within the world-class Etihad Campus in Manchester.

This hotel is a fantastic addition to a growing portfolio of several stadium-based properties in the UK, like the renowned cricket ground, Edgbaston Stadium, the Allianz Stadium Twickenham, the Home of England rugby, and worldwide in India and China.

“We are grateful for Manchester City’s trust in our brands and confident that our long-standing cooperation will unlock further opportunities for all stakeholders.”

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For all the latest news, events and goings on in Greater Manchester, subscribe to The Manc newsletter HERE.

Featured Images — Manchester City (via club website)

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Some major creatives are gathering for a gala dinner in aid of Greater Manchester’s homeless community

Danny Jones Danny Jones Greater Manchester Mayor's Charity gala dinner fundraising for homeless community

A lineup of local artists and creatives are coming together for this year’s Greater Manchester Mayor’s Charity gala dinner to help raise money for the region’s homeless community.

Marking the third year of the event, the 2025 gala dinner isn’t just an annual occasion on the Greater Manchester Mayor’s Charity (GMMC) calendar but is a major fundraising event for their flagship ‘A Bed Every Night’ scheme, which works wonders in combatting homelessness each year.

Last year alone, more than 50 local businesses and organisations attended the affair, raising nearly £15,000 for the crucial cause at the heart of the GMMC‘s work. Incredible stuff.

2024 saw an insightful Q&A with the Mayor himself, Andy Burnham; Coronation Street‘s Julia Goulding carrying out hosting duties, as well as live DJ sets from some notable names – and they’re determined to double down for this latest edition.

As you can see, as well as Burnham returning to talk big picture stuff and reinforce how vital this work is – alongside the Charity’s CEO and lead, Dr Fran Darlington-Pollock, as ever – the lineup for this year’s gala dinner is looking extremely exciting.

In addition to speeches from veteran broadcaster Nihal Arthanayake, who will discuss the importance of prevention work and the impact of A Bed Every Night (ABEN), local presenter Matty White will be taking over as chief host of the evening at the wonderful New Century Hall.

‘Professional doodler’ Dave Draws is creating a piece of original art live as the evening unfolds
which will be entered into an auction on the night, with exclusive limited edition prints also available, and guests will also be treated to a plethora of music and DJ sets from top local talents.

The lineup includes Manchester’s very own Anna Kathryn Lynch, a headline performance from set from Mr Scruff Bb2b with MC Kwasi, as well as Salford-based ‘The Blind Poet’, who will perform a live reading of an original poem which shares the name of Charity’s pioneering scheme.

As for the audience taking all this in, a total of 350 guests from the North West business community are set to gather for the annual gala dinner and with over £30k raised in the last two years alone, the target is big but, if we know Greater Manchester’s generous spirit like we think we do, it’s achievable.

Naturally, with donations from the likes of SJM Concerts, Engine Number 4; AO Arena, New Century themselves and many more, there will also be a raffle with an enviable range of prizes on offer for those in attendance to win whilst doing their bit for the charity.

The Chair of the Greater Manchester Mayor’s Charity, Tim Heatley, said of the upcoming event: “Our gala dinner is about celebrating the charity’s successes and this year, we’re making the event bigger and better by uniting the best of Manchester’s businesses under one roof.

It’s an unmissable evening for networking with industry leaders and a fantastic opportunity to join the growing number of organisations that are collaborating to help end homelessness.”

Gemma Vaughan, general manager for chief sponsors AO Arena, added: “The AO Arena is and always has been a proud supporter of the Greater Manchester Mayor’s Charity. We’ve been part of the fabric of Manchester for three decades now, and it is truly our honour to bring joy to this great City.

“Our longevity wouldn’t be possible without the support of local people, and it’s important to us that we recognise this and give back where we can. We remain dedicated to Manchester, and always will be.”

The Charity’s work is never done and they deliver various key activations throughout the year, such as The Manchester 24-Hour Run Against Homelessness which blew people away with its fundraising power once again back in November 2024.

Manchester’s 24 Hour Run Against Homelessness raises a whopping £50k for ‘A Bed Every Night’
We love it when this city shows its best face – this unbelievable Manchester run and the homeless charity dinner being just two examples.

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Taking place at New Century on Thursday, 27 March, tables and sponsorship opportunities
are now available for businesses across Greater Manchester, with welcome drinks for local gin bar Atlas and flowers from Victoria Rose adorning the room.

We’ll level with you, they might not be cheap but they do seat six, packages are available and it’s for a cause that’s importance cannot be overstated.

If you’re interested in the charity dinner or figuring out other ways you can help the local homeless community, you can reach out for more information by emailing [email protected], or just visit Greater Manchester Mayor’s Charity’s events page HERE.

No one should ever have to sleep rough, so let’s do our very best to make it a thing of the past.

For all the latest news, events and goings on in Greater Manchester, subscribe to The Manc newsletter HERE.

Featured Images — GMMC (Supplied)/The Manc Group

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