The Commonwealth Bank of Australia (CBA), Glebe Point Road’s only remaining bank, closed in early September. However, the CBA promises the closure is only temporary until a new branch opens, at an as yet undisclosed location on Glebe Point Road, in July/August of 2015.

‘We are committed to having a branch of the bank in Glebe,’ Alex Perry, manager of the Broadway Branch of the Commonwealth Bank, told the Glebe Society on 8 October.

‘We are signing off (a new lease) this week. I can assure you it is in Glebe Point Rd. The site has to be redeveloped for wheelchair access and it takes time to design and build.’

In late 2013, residents were shocked to discover that Glebe’s last bank, at 205 Glebe Point Rd since 1975, was to shut. Following the closing of the Glebe Post Office in February 2011, fears were held for the commercial viability of the area between Bridge Rd and St John’s Rd.

In late 2013, Elliet Pty Ltd, owners of the 201-205 Glebe Point Road site, submitted a development application to the City of Sydney Council for two ground floor retail/commercial shops, five residential apartments and five off-street (in Talfourd Lane) parking places. Splitting the ground floor into two small shops forced the bank to look for a new location in Glebe Point Rd, something Perry says has been difficult because of the need for wheelchair access. 

Meanwhile the Broadway branch of the CBA, which is currently relocating within the shopping centre, will soon operate seven days a week.