Quarter of town’s cash machines removed

ROTHERHAM is becoming a “cash desert” after a quarter of the town’s ATMs were axed in just a few years, a new study has found.

Research using House of Commons Library data on the location of ATMs found there were just five cash machines for every 10,000 people.

The report for banking review site The Grade said there were 82 cashpoints in the Rotherham constituency at the end of last year — down 23 per cent since 2019.

There was an even bigger fall in the Wentworth & Dearne area, with 29 per cent fewer, while one in nine of Rother Valley’s ATMs have been removed or switched off.

The report from The Grade said: “As the cost of living crisis bites, cash use is back on the increase.

“Many Brits are finding it simpler to monitor and control their budgets by dealing in notes and coins.

There is a problem though — the last five years have seen a growing trend for ATM closures, leaving many, including the vulnerable, without easy access to cash.

“The UK is now filled with cash deserts.

“One in five people consider it to be their preferred payment method and 1.1 million people rely on it for their everyday spending — even for those who may not use it day-to-day, cash remains an important back-up option.”