Hopes are high for a new Carluke Credit Union

Strapped for cash...so many turn to payday loan companies

Carluke Community Council members are confident that the Credit Union – offering loans with just two per cent interest – can be opened in the High Street “by the end of the year”.

“The word on the street is that a lot of people in Carluke are affected by financial problems,” said community council chairman Alistair Mackie.

“They have a lack of access to ready cash. No-one would have thought Carluke needed a food bank (one opened last year in Hamilton Street) but it has been very busy.

“That is shocking in this day and age. And the same people using the food bank are the ones who need short-term loans.

“So I think a Carluke Credit Union would be very popular.”

For more on this story pick up a copy of the Carluke and Lanark Gazette which is in the shops now.