A DECISION to shed up to 240 jobs at Derbyshire Building Society and close its Duffield Hall headquarters has been condemned by business leaders in the county.

Nationwide, which merged with the Derbyshire two years ago, is also to close several of its branches.

It said that the move was necessary to sustain the future of the society.

But George Cowcher, chief executive of Derbyshire and Nottinghamshire Chamber of Commerce, said: "This is extremely sad.

"The Derbyshire is our building society, we gave it its name and we feel part of it.

"Its identity has been swallowed up by a national company that has not got any feel for the area at all. It is hugely disappointing.

"At a time when the banking sector is trying to repair its image and be seen to be supporting communities this does them no favours."

The Derbyshire, which was founded in 1859, initially approached Nationwide to form an alliance in 2008. At the time it faced a £17 million deficit because of its exposure to mortgages and loans at risk of default. Peter Richardson was chief executive of the society until 2007, when the board decided that the society needed a change of leadership.

Mr Richardson, who spent 10 years with the society before taking up a position as chairman of Derby Cityscape, said: "This is a massive shock to me and, I'm sure, to the employees at the Derbyshire.

"Throughout my time at the society the board never mentioned anything about a merger. If I had still been chief executive when the proposals to merge with the Nationwide were first talked about I would have objected to it.

"I feel that the Derbyshire was strong enough to carry on as it was. The board probably felt there was more safety in joining forces with a large society like the Nationwide.

"But if someone had told the board at the time that it would mean the Derbyshire losing Duffield Hall then I'm sure they would've thought twice about it.

"This is not just a blow for the Derbyshire, the building society, it is a blow for Derbyshire, the county."

As soon as the merger deal was signed, Nationwide began a review of the Derbyshire's operations.

The result is that 12 branches will shut, resulting in the loss of about 60 jobs, and around 180 positions will go at Duffield Hall, where 320 people are employed. The remaining 140 will be offered positions elsewhere in the Nationwide group, including several within Derbyshire branches.

Staff were told about the changes yesterday.

The majority of branches which are to shut are outside the county boundary, with the exception of three – Buxton, Chapel-en-le-Frith and New Mills.

Nationwide said these had been chosen either because of low customer use or because they were in close proximity to existing Nationwide branches.

But a bigger blow is the planned closure of Duffield Hall.

Nationwide said it had identified duplication of roles between its staff based at its headquarters in Swindon and Derbyshire workers at Duffield.

Nationwide has promised that the Derbyshire brand will be maintained, focusing on savings and investments.

It has also decided to stop offering Derbyshire branded mortgages, due to low sales, and Derbyshire customers wanting new mortgages will be offered Nationwide products instead.

Matthew Wyles, Nationwide's group distribution director, said changes were needed to sustain the future viability of the Derbyshire.

He said: "Since rescuing the Derbyshire we have remained committed to keeping their presence on the High Street. But it became clear that we needed to make a number of changes.

"The strategy we have outlined is designed to strengthen our regional brands, giving the Derbyshire the focus and clarity needed for it to succeed.

"The decisions we are taking are absolutely vital and would have been inevitable for any business wishing to stabilise and maintain the Derbyshire for the benefit of members.

"We are fully supporting our people and members through this period of change, while ensuring our business focus is maintained and the service to our customers is protected."

Around the same time Nationwide merged with the Derbyshire, it also took on the Cheshire and Dunfermline societies.

The Cheshire will close in the next two years, but the Dunfermline's headquarters will be used as an administrative centre for Nationwide's regional brands, including the Derbyshire.

Nationwide said a small satellite office for Derbyshire's non-branch operations would continue operating at Little Eaton.

Jeremy Hicks, Nationwide's senior corporate affairs manager, said: "A critical thing is that the proposals are to make the changes over two years.

"This gives us a huge amount of time to advise our staff on what the next step will be. We will make sure they're aware of the support we can give them."

Businesses and residents in Duffield said that the loss of the Derbyshire's headquarters would be a blow for the local economy.

Jo Harrison, who works as a supervisor at the Co-op store, in Town Street, said: "It's going to really hit trade at a difficult time. A lot of Derbyshire staff use our shop."

Richard Rice, of Nether Close, who has lived in Duffield for 33 years, said: "It's going to have an impact in terms of trade. I'm also worried about what will happen to the Duffield Hall site."

Duffield Hall has been the home of Derbyshire Building Society since 1977.

A Grade II-listed building, it is thought to have been built in the 1620s for the Newton family.

It

was later home to several High Sheriffs. One of them, Rowland Smith,

bought the property in 1860 and extensively restored and improved the

house creating the present mansion.

The house was occupied by St

Ronans School from the 1920s until 1970, when the property was bought

by Derbyshire Building Society, which moved in following restoration

work.

The society itself was formed in 1859. In 1966 it merged

with Ashbourne Permanent Benefit Building Society and Somercotes

Building Society.

It also absorbed Ilkeston Permanent Building Society in 2001.

By 2007 it was the 10th largest building society in the UK, with 450,000 members and 750 staff.