Barclays will close an office in Kent which employs 302 people in the latest of a series of efficiency measures.

It is unclear how many jobs will be lost after the closure of the site at Crossways Business Park.

Last week, the bank announced plans to cut 1,700 frontline staff from its branches, as more customers opt to use banking services online and on their mobiles.

The Dartford office closure has largely been blamed on a lack of work for its specialist complaints department based there, after the bank stopped offering the kind of investment products the department dealt with.

Some staff at the Meridian House office will be moved to Canary Wharf, with some others expected to find jobs locally with Barclays.

The bank told staff of its plans on November 7. The office will close in March next year.

Barclays head of specialist complaints Caroline Ambrose said: “Barclays is working hard to meet customer needs and keep the customer at the heart of what we do.

“Part of this work is ensuring that our contact centres and processing sites are working efficiently to enable our teams to work together more effectively.

“The management of Barclays has assured me that compulsory redundancies will be a last resort..." - Dartford MP Gareth Johnson

“Following a review of our operations we have announced a proposal to transfer the work currently undertaken by staff at the Barclays offices in Meridian House, Admirals Business Park, Dartford to other centres.

“The company will do everything possible to assist the employees put at risk of redundancy.

“This assistance will involve ongoing training, career transition support, including opportunities to move with their roles to other sites or for redeployment to other parts of Barclays, and a comprehensive package should employees be made redundant as a last resort.

“We are committed to the Dartford area with a significant number of retail and business staff in our branches in and around the town.”

Dartford MP Gareth Johnson visited staff on the day the office closure was announced and has also met with representatives of Unite and the bank.

He said: “The management of Barclays has assured me that compulsory redundancies will be a last resort.

“Barclays were quick to point out that staff who work in the office, who are predominantly from the local area, are highly skilled individuals with much to offer any company.

“Unemployment in Dartford has been falling throughout the year so this closure does not represent a trend in the area or illustrate any underlying problem in Dartford.

“Instead it is the consequence of a changing banking sector and the restructuring of Barclays that has followed.

“They are looking to relocate staff to offices in London and, although some roles will be moved further afield, they are doing all that they can to retrain or move staff within the company. I have offered Barclays any assistance they require during this process.”

Barclays has also announced closures to a site in Coventry, as well as its job losses in branches nationally.