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BT Phone Box removal

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BT Phone Box removal proposal

Phone Box Martins Fields
Martins Fields Phone Box in 2010

British Telecom has told Winchester City Council that it is starting a formal consultation on proposals to remove 57 phone boxes from various sites across the District.

This is because of a 90% reduction in use of payphones over the last decade and an increase in 3G or 4G coverage to more than 98% of the UK.

A recent OFCOM report on consumer views of (amongst other things) the importance of payphones is available on the OFCOM website.

Two of the affected phones boxes are in Compton and Shawford. BT’s records show that no-one made a call from those boxes in the last year.

The City Council has to provide a formal response about each of the 57 payphones by 20th January 2017.

This response will take the form of AGREE, OBJECT or ADOPT.

ADOPT is an opportunity for the community to purchase a traditional red ‘heritage’ phone box for £1 and make it an asset that local people can enjoy.

This is something that might be of interest to the community. Further details are available at http://business.bt.com/phone-services/payphone-services/adopt-a-kiosk/

The Parish Council has a chance to comment on the possible loss of our two boxes. This subject will be on the agenda at the PC meeting on 10 January 2017.

How can I comment?

If you wish to express a view, please send your comments to the Parish Council by 4 January 2017.

This will allow councillors time to consider them before the meeting.

You can send us your comment by

  • Using the comment form at the bottom of this page
  • If you are a facebook user, you can comment on the post on our Facebook page
  • Using the Contact the Council form. Use Phone Box Removal as the subject.
  • Or send your comments to the clerk by email