Amersham and Chesham bottom for cash machine access

Data from www.merchantmachine.co.uk has found that in Amersham and Chesham, which are separated by only 2.5 miles along the A416, there are only 24.8 cash machines per 100,000 people in the constituency.

This means they are ranked bottom of the constituency leader board in 650th place.

They are joined by Buckingham, which is in the north of the county, as one of the worst in the UK for cash withdrawals, as the town is third from the bottom.

The map has revealed the best and worst places for cash withdrawal access in the UK (Image: merchantmachine.co.uk)

The statistics also revealed several banks in the area have closed down, making it even harder for members of the public to withdraw cash.

In all, the key findings are as follows:

• Manchester has the best availability of cash machines of any city in the UK (532 per 100,000 people)
• Cambridge has the worst cash machine availability of any city, counting only 71.3 ATMs per 100,000 people
• Cities of London and Westminster boast more cash machines (454.3) per 100,000 people than any other parliamentary constituency
• In contrast, Chesham and Amersham offer the fewest (24.8) ATMs per 100,000 people

The most accessible banks in the constituency are as follows:

• Natwest (Amersham)
• Commonwealth FS Bank (Amersham)
• Lloyds (Chesham)
• Empire Commercial (Chalfont St Giles)
• Barclays (Gerrards Cross)
• County Financial (Chalfont St Giles)
• Britpay (Gerrards Cross)
• Barclays (Gerrards Cross)
• Kubera Wealth (Gerrards Cross)
• Hearthstone Mortgages (Gerrards Cross)

In February 2023, the constituency’s MP, said: “Towns around my constituency have seen banks disappearing from their high streets at an alarming rate.

“Residents are worried that these closures will make it harder to do business locally and result in the isolation of individuals who cannot bank online.

"Some of those affected will struggle to make the journey to the next nearest branch and are not confident that the alternative provision promised will meet their needs.”

It's not pretty reading for Amersham and Chesham (Image: merchantmachine.co.uk)

The findings also revealed that Glasgow Central, Belfast West, Blackpool South, Birmingham Ladywood, Cardiff Central, Plymouth, Sutton & Davenport, Crawley, Great Yarmouth, Derby South, Kingston upon Hull, Newcastle upon Tyne Central and Cities of London and Westminster were the best areas for cash machine access.

In contrast, Chesham, Amersham, Buckinghamshire, Forest of Dean, Gower, North Herefordshire, Cheadle, Strangford, West Aberdeenshire and Kincardine, Hexham, Sheffield, Hallam, Rutland & Melton, South Cambridgeshire and Harrow East were some of the worst.

For more information, go to https://merchantmachine.co.uk/atm-accessibility-index.