BOTH the Dorchester and Bridport NatWest banks will close their doors later this year.

NatWest has announced a string of upcoming closures to branches across the country that will see 55 close.

Included in the list is the Dorchester branch on South Street on October 22 and the Bridport branch on East Street on October 29.

These closures will leave west Dorset without a NatWest branch, with Bridport customers soon having to travel 18 miles to Somerset for in-person banking, and Dorchester customers facing a 21-mile trip to Weymouth.

According to NatWest, the Bridport branch has seen a 58% drop in average counter transactions between January 2025 and January 2025, with the Bridport branch seeing a 59% decrease.

Both branches have instead seen a shift of people moving to apps and online to do their banking.

In Dorchester, 105 personal customers and 147 business customers used the branch in an average month, with the Bridport branch seeing 227 personal customers and 132 business customers on average each month.

The Bridport branch will close on October 29 Picture: Google

This shift to online banking has been credited with the closure, with bank bosses saying more than 80% of its active current account holders now use digital services and more than 97% of retail accounts opened online.

NatWest confirmed that both the Bridport and Dorchester branch closures will be supported through a “supporting you through our branch closure event”, but the details have not yet been published.

Customers can still manage their accounts and payments online or in hubs inside a post office.

The nearest NatWest branches to both locations can be found in Weymouth, Yeovil, Poole and Taunton.

For more information on the closures, click here.

Full list of new NatWest closures:

• Abingdon, 11 Market Place, Abingdon, OX14 3HH, 24/9/2025
• Birmingham – Acocks Green, Shop 3, 1160 Warwick Road, Birmingham, B27 6DF, 16/9/2025
• Ashby-de-la-Zouch, 54 Market Street, Ashby-De-La-Zouch, LE65 1BB, 18/9/2025
• Bicester, 1-7 Manorsfield Road, Bicester, OX26 6DA, 30/9/2025
• Bridgwater, 9 York Buildings, Bridgwater, TA6 3BS, 27/10/2025
• Bridport, 22 East Street, Bridport, DT6 3LG, 29/10/2025
• Cardiff – Canton, 277 Cowbridge Road East, Cardiff, CF5 1WX, 16/9/2025
• Chippenham, 30 High Street, Chippenham, SN15 3HB, 15/10/2025
• Cirencester, 32 Market Place, Cirencester, GL7 2NU, 17/9/2025
• Cromer, 61 Church Street, Cromer, NR27 9YY, Date to be confirmed
• Cwmbran, 36-37 Gwent Square, Cwmbran, NP44 1YW, 1/9/2025
• Dorchester, 49 South Street, Dorchester, DT1 1DW, 22/10/2025
• Birmingham – Edgbaston, 30A Harborne Road, Birmingham, B15 3AA, 11/9/2025
• Ely, 16 Market Street, Ely, CB7 4YY, 10/9/2025
• Evesham, 2 Bridge Street, Evesham, WR11 4RS, Date to be confirmed
• Bristol – Fishponds, 778 Fishponds Road, Bristol, BS16 3TX, 4/9/2025
• Halesowen, 2 Hagley Road, Halesowen, B63 4RQ, 3/9/2025
• Hinckley, 13 The Borough, Hinckley, LE10 1NL, 17/9/2025
• Honiton, 94 High Street, Honiton, EX14 1JL, 21/10/2025
• Kettering, 16 High Street, Kettering, NN16 8SZ, 28/10/2025
• Launceston, 14 Westgate Street, Launceston, PL15 7AG, Date to be confirmed
• Luton – Leagrave, 11 Marsh Road, Luton, LU3 2QP, 15/9/2025
• Leicester – Melton Road, 2 Melton Road, Leicester, LE4 5EA, 2/9/2025
• Leighton Buzzard, 27 High Street, Leighton Buzzard, LU7 1DX, 28/10/2025
• Llangefni, Glanhwfa Road, Llangefni, LL77 7WY, 4/9/2025
• Cardiff – Llanishen, Westminster Chambers, 50-52 Station Road, Cardiff, CF14 5QP, 11/9/2025
• Lowestoft, 53 London Road North, Lowestoft, NR32 1BJ, 15/10/2025
• Melton Mowbray, 7 High Street, Melton Mowbray, LE13 0TT, 29/9/2025
• Midsomer Norton, 3 High Street, Radstock, BA3 2LE, 8/10/2025
• Mold, 48-50 High Street, Mold, CH7 1BA, 21/10/2025
• Neath, 35 Green Street, Neath, SA11 1DB, 13/10/2025
• Newmarket (Suffolk), 18 High Street, Newmarket, CB8 8LH, 24/9/2025
• Northampton – Weston Favell Shopping Centre, 17 Weston Favell Centre, Northampton, NN3 8FZ, 15/9/2025
• Leicester – Oadby, 5 The Parade, Leicester, LE2 5BB, 10/9/2025
• Paignton, 15 Victoria Street, Paignton, TQ4 5DE, 2/10/2025
• Portishead, 25 High Street, Bristol, BS20 6BL, Date to be confirmed
• Rayleigh, 43 High Street, Rayleigh, SS6 7EW, 2/9/2025
• Redditch, Church Green House, Church Green East, Redditch, B98 8DG, 14/10/2025
• Ringwood, 11 High Street, Ringwood, BH24 1BA, 1/10/2025
• Romsey, 27 Market Place, Romsey, SO51 8ZH, 13/10/2025
• Leamington Spa, Royal Priors, 59 Parade, Leamington Spa, CV32 4ZX, 1/10/2025
• Birmingham – Shirley, 231 Stratford Road, Solihull, B90 3AJ, 29/9/2025
• Birmingham – Smethwick, 34-38 High Street, Smethwick, B66 1DU, 25/9/2025
• Stevenage, 26-28 Queensway, Stevenage, SG1 1BS, 7/10/2025
• Stratford-upon-Avon, 31 Rother Street, Stratford-Upon-Avon, CV37 6ZS, 8/10/2025
• Sudbury, 32 Market Hill, Sudbury, CO10 2EN, 30/9/2025
• Torquay, 108 Union Street, Torquay, TQ2 5PH, 3/9/2025
• Trowbridge, 62 Fore Street, Trowbridge, BA14 8EX, 16/10/2025
• Wellingborough, 40 Market Street, Wellingborough, NN8 1AD, 7/10/2025
• Wickford, 63 High Street, Wickford, SS12 9AH, 18/9/2025
• Wisbech, 1 Market Place, Wisbech, PE13 1DT, 1/9/2025
• Yate, 3-5 North Walk, Bristol, BS37 4AG, 25/9/2025
• Prestatyn, Lower High Street Car Park, Prestatyn, LL19 9LG, 29/9/2025
• Abergele, Tesco Car Park, Abergele, LL22 7AA, 29/9/2025
• Welshpool, Tesco Welshpool Car Park, Welshpool, SY21 7BL, 29/9/2025