1 October 2008
Don't hang up on our phone boxes
Wealden District Council is calling for 35 endangered call boxes to be retained in the district.
"It is our job to respond to BT's closure plans," said Councillor Roy Galley, Cabinet member for Strategic Planning & Housing Delivery. "We have had a great response from members of the public, and parish and town councils, who are concerned about the loss of emergency telephone cover if the call boxes were removed. Many telephone kiosks have become a well-loved part of the rural landscape and their retention will help preserve the heritage of the district."
"I think BT should carry on maintaining these public phone boxes in the interests of the local community."
Twenty-one of the boxes are the classic K6 kiosks designed by Sir Giles Gilbert Scott, the famous 20th century architect who spent his childhood at Ninfield. His work also includes Liverpool's Anglican cathedral and Battersea power station. It was his bicycle rides around the Sussex countryside looking at churches that helped foster his interest in architecture.
The Council is calling for 35 kiosks be saved out of the total of 44 which BT want axed, and has asked for more information about two more. Due to uncertainty regarding the details of some of the phone boxes earmarked for closure, Wealden has been given extra time for the consultation process. It is asking both parish and town councils and the general public for their views on Wealden's call to save 35 telephone kiosks.
The full list of the kiosks Wealden is calling for to be saved can be found on the Planning pages.
Wealden is asking for all submitted responses to be made to it by 5pm on Friday October 17 to ensure BT receive these views on time.
BT is operating two schemes whereby local authorities can either:
- Adopt-a-Kiosk at cost £1 a call box but the telephony equipment is removed; or
- Sponsor-a-Kiosk which costs £500 including a contribution towards keeping the telephony equipment in place.
Information about both these scheme can be found on the BT website
