Protests and petitions haven’t worked (did anyone really expect them to?) — Westpac confirmed yesterday that Waikanae is one of the 19 small town branches that is going to close.

We can understand Destination Waikanae’s dismay — if visiting the bank was the main reason for people to go to Mahara Place, but other shops are a secondary reason, will they now just carry on down to Coastlands in Paraparaumu and do everything there?

And of course, it’s another vacant shop in that area.

The thing we wonder is, will the other banks now take that as a precedent and follow suit?  Perhaps if some Westpac customers transfer their account to say, the ANZ, they may not.