Ipswich Building Society has confirmed its commitment to Suffolk’s small towns with a major makeover for its Hadleigh branch

East Anglian Daily Times: Inside the refurbished Ipswich Building Society branch in Hadleigh, Suffolk. Picture: KESHA ALLENInside the refurbished Ipswich Building Society branch in Hadleigh, Suffolk. Picture: KESHA ALLEN (Image: Ipswich Building Society)

The Hadleigh branch is its oldest branch office, celebrating 40 years in the town.

The outside has been returned to its original Suffolk pink and there has been a complete refurbishment inside.

Hadleigh is one of the Suffolk towns which has seen a reduction in banking choice.

Last year Barclays closed its High Street branch claiming it only had 154 customers relying on it as their main source of banking services.

The vast majority of customers had switched to online banking, it said.

The upgrade for Hadleigh branch follows on from the opening of two new offices by the society in Ipswich and Woodbridge town centres last year.

The society has nine branches in all.

Chief executive Richard Norrington said: "Hadleigh was the first branch we opened, and joined existing the counter facilities located within our Ipswich head office. Having been based in Ipswich town centre since 1849, this new location gave us the opportunity to grow our membership and extend the reach of our savings and mortgages.

"As a proud, independent mutual we are committed to meeting the needs of our members, retaining a high street presence and providing accessible and welcoming facilities. Therefore, we are delighted to still be a part of the Hadleigh community today."