Vernon Building Society is expected to open on Uppermill High Street in November, bringing face-to-face financial services back to Saddleworth.

Chief executive Darren Ditchfield and business development manager Ian Wilson attended Saddleworth Parish Council ahead of the opening to explain what the society will offer to individuals and businesses.

The branch will share premises with Pearsons Solicitors on the High Street, with face-to-face banking available from 10am to 4pm, Tuesday to Thursday.

Darren said: "We're delighted to be bringing face-to-face financial services back to the villages of Saddleworth, which have been without a high street branch for nearly a decade. Opening in Uppermill will allow us to offer more convenient access to the personal service they've missed."

The society is more than 100 years old and has operated in Stockport since 1924. It offers savings packages for individuals and businesses, as well as mortgages, and runs a charitable foundation with two grant schemes supporting local groups.

Parish Council chair Barbara Beeley said the council had been "firmly committed to getting financial services made available in the community". She said Saddleworth was "a great place for businesses to invest in", and that the council would continue to press the Government to encourage more banking services into the area.

She added that face-to-face financial planning would now be available "in a way that simply wasn't the case before".