BUSINESSES in Chipping Sodbury are losing customers because there is only one cash machine in the high street, which has repeatedly been broken.

After the closure of the Lloyds Bank branch in July, the only cash machine left in High Street is one at NatWest.

But after problems in recent weeks with the machine running out of cash and reportedly breaking down, business owners have united to call for action.

Amy Russell, from Out of the Blue, told the Gazette: “We have definitely lost business in recent weeks because people have gone to get money out and found it wasn’t working or didn’t have any money left.

“While we do have a cashpoint over in Waitrose and services such as the newly opened post office offering longer hours than before, it is still an inconvenience later on in the evening, and I can imagine business in the pubs suffers when cash becomes short. Having another cashpoint in the town would be a good idea as it would take the strain off the only one on the high street.”

Chamber of Commerce member Angie Lane, who runs ANG magazines, said having one cash machine frequently caused problems.

“The importance of having working cashpoints in a busy high street cannot be over emphasised. It affects local people as well as visitors.

“It can cause problems for specials events as well as everyday shopping. For example, at this weekend’s Chipping Sodbury Food and Drink Festival, we became aware as soon as the cash machine ran out of money as we were getting inquiries at the control tent.”

Kim Daniels, from Artingstall Butchers, suggested having an independent cash machine installed in the high street.

“It would make sense for somewhere like the tourist information office to have one installed,” she said. “Not only would it help by being there in case the other one goes down, but by having one at each end of the high street, it would be less of an inconvenience for shoppers, especially the older generation.”

Joanne Cox, chairman of the Sodbury Chamber of Commerce, said the group was working on getting a second cash machine.

She told the Gazette: “We have been a thriving, busy market town for years, and it is important to have the resources available on our high street to support our many independent shops, some of which do not operate with card machines.”

“We have approached NatWest about getting a second cashpoint installed as we think it would be a valuable improvement to their service, and are currently waiting on a response.”

A spokesman from NatWest said that, following a number of technical issues, the cash machine at the Sodbury branch had been replaced at the beginning of this month.

The spokesman said they would continue to review their branch and cash machine network.