Juniper Green in Edinburgh will be without a bank when Royal Bank of Scotland closes its branch their next month.

The area has also been without a post office for nearly a decade.

Now locals are hoping to use new community right to buy legislation to buy the disused public toilets which would then be demolished to make way for a new building that they hope could accommodate a community bank combined with a post office.

The plan would see a trust formed to acquire the toilets and redevelop the site.

Cliff Beevers, chairman of Juniper Green Community Council, said he believed that, although small, the plot of land would be big enough to be serviceable as a combined bank and post office.

He told The Herald: “It’s to try and provide an opportunity for older and vulnerable people and the business community who will lose banking facilities when RBS goes.”

A consultation in the village last summer established the importance of over-the-counter services.

Mr Beevers added: “Talking to people about what they wanted - and this was before we knew RBS was closing – what people said was their priority was a post office.

“A post office provides a hub in a community, which will be missed even more when RBS closes.”

The community council is to host a public meeting on May 31 at 8pm in Juniper Green Village Hall to look at what happens once the bank closes.