A BANK has set up a pop-up branch at Llandudno Town Hall after a fire forced it to close "for the foreseeable future".

HSBC said it has arranged with Conwy County Borough Council to work from the hall while repairs are carried out at its Mostyn Street branch following a blaze that caused "significant damage" in the early hours of Tuesday, April 27.

The pop-up branch, which opened on Thursday, April 29, will provide limited in-store services but customers will not be able to withdraw cash. In the meantime, customers are being advised to carry out cash withdrawals at the Post Office on Mostyn Street or at the HSBC branch in Colwyn Bay.

Dyfrig Roberts, HSBC local director, said the pop-up store will be kept under review and will be assessed according to customer demand.

He said: “We are extremely grateful to the emergency services for the rapid action they took yesterday morning which undoubtedly stopped the damage to our and surrounding properties being much worse. That said, the damage that has been sustained to our branch is significant, and we will not be able to open the branch until repairs can be completed. This is being arranged as a matter of urgency, although the work itself may take some weeks to complete.

"We know that access to cash is important, so arrangements are in place for HSBC UK customers to be able to carry out day-to-day banking transactions at the Post Office on Mostyn Street, which is a one minute walk away. In addition to this, customers can use mobile or internet banking, telephone banking. If a customer does need to visit a branch, Colwyn Bay is around six miles away and open from 10am to 2pm.

"We appreciate that some of our customers may want and need to discuss certain matters with us face-to-face and we feel it is important for us to continue to be present in Llandudno to help our customers at this time. We have worked quickly with Cyngor Tref Llandudno Town Council to find a solution."

North Wales Fire and Rescue Service said it was called to Mostyn Street just after 3am on Tuesday, when the blaze had started behind commercial properties on the junction of Lloyd Street.

Two crews from Llandudno and a crew from Colwyn Bay tackled the incident and an aerial ladder platform from Rhyl was also sent. Two people received precautionary treatment at the scene.

HSBC said the temporary pop-up branch will be open between 10am and 4pm from Monday to Friday.

Mr Roberts added: "Given the circumstances, we will be offering a reduced service which means that we cannot offer cash services at this time. However, the HSBC team will be able to help customers with a range of simple servicing queries, support the set up and registration of mobile and online banking, and answer any product related queries.

"We will need to keep this under review once we can assess the level of demand from our customers.”