The Mayor of Ely Councillor Richard Hobbs was on hand to open the newly designed and refurbished branch of Santander in Ely on Tuesday.

Ely Standard: Justin Heron, representative from Little Miracles, far right, pictured with Santander Ely staff.Justin Heron, representative from Little Miracles, far right, pictured with Santander Ely staff. (Image: Archant)

Representatives from local charity Little Miracles, which supports families that have children with additional needs, disabilities and life limiting conditions, attended the opening and there were hot drinks and cakes for customers throughout the day.

Little Miracles is one of the charities that will benefit from a fundraising programme at the branch throughout 2018.

Work on the new branch design took four weeks to complete and facilities include digital workstations with tablets for online banking, express banking with a new ATM wall, counter services for more secure transactions and private interview rooms.

Susan Allen, Santander’s head of retail distribution, said: “Banking is changing at a rapid pace and we wanted to create a branch that can accommodate the needs of all our local customers.”

The branch on 37-39 High Street, which employs six staff, is managed by Sally Picking.