After seeing the closure of a rival bank in the north of the city, the Cumberland Building Society has been declaring its commitment to the area.

It has draped a banner across its branch in Kingstown Road, Kingstown, which says “We’re still open”.

The move came after HSBC closed its Kingstown Road branch last month – something the society said has brought new customers to the Cumberland.

Nyree Legge, general manager branches for the Cumberland, said: “We wanted to ensure that those affected by recent bank closures were aware that there was still a branch in Kingstown that offered banking and mortgage services for both personal and business customers.

“We are 100 per cent committed to Kingstown. Kingstown is a very busy branch and we have not considered closing it.”

She believes there is plenty of demand for a full branch in the area, which has been the scene of heavy development over the last few years.

“The northern part of Carlisle has become much busier in recent years with the opening of the bypass, the investment in the industrial estate and the residential development at Crindledyke Farm,” she said.

“As a result there are more people and businesses in the area and there is a demand for a bank branch. Our Kingstown branch offers our full range of banking and mortgage services, parking and an ATM. For many who live and work in the north of Carlisle, it’s more convenient than travelling into the city centre.”

She added: “We have certainly seen an increase in people switching their banking to us. Whilst it’s disappointing to see another bank branch closure, we’re happy to help those people and businesses that still need the convenience of a local branch.”

Miss Legge has also said that the firm is committed to all of its other branches.

“We know how important our branches are to our local communities. Following recent bank closure announcements a number of customers have asked if we have any similar plans, which we do not,” she said. “We regularly review our branch network and if we identified a location where there was an appropriate level of demand for a branch we would consider opening one, as we did when we opened our most recent branch in Lancaster in 2013.”

She added that the society had also added services to make using a branch faster for customers. This has included a 15-minute mortgage appointment.

The HSBC closure was part of a wider announcement to close 62 branches of the bank by the end of this year. This also included he branch in Keswick’s Market Square, which has also closed.

Clydesdale Bank operates a branch in Kingstown for business and private clients.