Santander is to cut the opening hours of its Oswestry branch as part of a weekend restructure across its network.

The high street bank will no longer open until 4pm on a Saturday, instead closing the doors at 12.30pm.

The Oswestry branch is one of more than 300 to be affected by the change in opening hours, with the Shrewsbury branch also reducing its opening hours.

The move is part of a wider shake-up of changes to opening hours being introduced by the bank from July 18.

The changes also mean branches will operate from 9.30am to 3pm on weekdays, instead of until 4.30pm.

The bank said branch staff will still be available for pre-booked face-to-face appointments between 3pm and 5pm, if customers need support that cannot be provided through alternative channels or earlier in the day.

A handful of branches situated in shopping centres will be excluded from the changes.

Meanwhile, 76 branches will retain their current half-day opening hours on a Saturday, and 58 sites will remain closed on a Saturday.

There will be no branch closures as part of the changes, Santander said, adding that all of its 450 sites will remain open every weekday.

The bank said the changes reflect a thorough review of when customers use its branches.

Richard Owen, head of branches at Santander, said: “These changes will enable us to maintain our existing branch network while providing significant additional capacity to help customers who want to talk to us by phone.

“We have seen a continuing reduction in branch usage over several years, both before and since the peak of the pandemic, with many customers preferring to transact digitally or contact us by phone.

“We want to make sure we have the right mix of channels to help our customers however they choose to bank with us.”

Santander said it will be writing to regular branch customers to explain the new opening hours and to offer support.