Shropshire Council thanks town councils and parish councils for their help with BT payphones consultation

Following extensive public consultation across the county, Shropshire Council has submitted its final view as the local authority for the 214 public payphones that BT had proposed for removal.

A red payphone box in Shropshire

Shropshire Council is thanking town councils, parish councils and local people for their help in assisting the council to make decisions that as far as possible are based on local feedback, as well as issues such as rural isolation, mobile phone coverage, and so forth.

Shropshire Council is pleased to report that there are 23 payphones where the council is consenting to the removal of the telephony, because it is the intention of the local town council or parish council to adopt the kiosk structure for a new use.

For the full list and further details, please click here.

Cecilia Motley, Shropshire Council’s Cabinet member for rural services and communities, said:

“I am extremely heartened by the efforts that people have made to share their views with Shropshire Council about these payphones, including views received from local policing teams, town councils, parish councils and local communities.

“I am particularly delighted that a number of parish councils have requested adoption of their kiosk in order to help West Midlands Ambulance Service to continue to spread the number of locations in Shropshire in which defibrillators are available, using BT phoneboxes where possible due to their visibility as landmarks.

I am equally pleased that the council has received so much help to make decisions to retain the service and kiosk where the continued operational use of the telephone is warranted, due to reasons including social need, rural isolation, accident blackspot concerns, and mobile phone coverage issues.” 

Payphones across Shropshire have been subject to consultation

There are 131 payphones where Shropshire Council is exercising its veto over removal of telephony, to keep the service operational (these are noted as ‘object’ on the response). There are a further 60 where Shropshire Council is consenting to removal of the telephony and the kiosk, in accordance with local views (these are noted as ‘consent’ on the response). Shropshire Council will now await further information from BT, including any confirmation that retentions will not be challenged, and any potential timescales for removals where consent to do so has been granted.

In the meantime, letters will be going to clerks of town councils and parish councils, with the full list of decisions by Shropshire Council.

To find out more about your local payphone and the BT proposal, ask a community enablement officer by contacting community.enablement@shropshire.gov.uk or phone 01743 253077.

Further information

Defibrillators

Shropshire Council will continue to emphasise use of kiosks for defibrillators as a possible course of action for parish councils for whom adoption is seen as a possibility in the future.

Please note that West Midlands Ambulance Service has also expressed an interest in adopting kiosks where consent for removal has been granted as part of this consultation, but no interest has been expressed in adoption from the relevant town councils and parish councils at this stage.

Details of the kiosks concerned have been passed to West Midlands Ambulance Service, who may look to take adoption forward in association with the relevant town councils or parish councils.

Questions (Qs) and answers (As)

Q: What happens to the power supply once the kiosk is removed?

A: The power supply is disconnected by the regional electricity company and made safe/capped. 

Q: If the kiosk is adopted, will BT continue to provide a power supply to the kiosk, as in previous years?

A: Where there is a power supply to the kiosk (which there usually is) BT will retain responsibility and pay for the supply for the time being, although reserve the right to disconnect the power supply at some point in the future, at which time the adopting council/group/charity would be given the opportunity to take over the supply. If the power supply is for a defibrillator, BT will retain responsibility and pay for the supply for a minimum of seven years, and reserve the right to disconnect the power supply after that time. Again, the adopting council/group/charity would be given the opportunity to take over the supply. 

Q: If a modern KX100 Kiosk is adopted, can it be swapped for a historic red K6 kiosk?

A: No, BT would not be agreeable to this; nor will removed kiosks be offered on general sale/availability. 

Q: How many operational kiosks are there in Shropshire?

A: BT say that at the moment there are somewhere in the region of 350 payphones operational in Shropshire. 

Q: How many kiosks have been adopted in Shropshire?

A: 23. BT has sent a specific list of adopted kiosks. If we get a big round of adoptions actually going ahead this time, the intention will be to gauge interest for developing a list to help adopters to keep in touch with each other. This could save on maintenance costs/share costs for work/equipment/paint, or share ideas etc.  

Q: What further help is there for those considering adoption, who have already notified their community enablement officer?

A: For those looking at adopting their kiosk, we will get in touch with each town council or parish council clerk to offer assistance.