Villagers see red over threat to phone boxes

8:39am Monday 12th May 2008

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PLANS to remove three traditional red telephone boxes from two villages near Worcester have been met with fierce opposition.

BT has announced outline plans to disconnect and remove the boxes in Upton Road, Callow End, Malvern Road near the roundabout, and in Old Malvern Road near the traffic lights, both in Powick The telephone company has written to Powick Parish Council asking for opinions on the proposal.

At a meeting of the council, vice chairman Colin Phillips said: "This is happening in lots of villages now with the dawn of mobile phones.

"They are just not getting used.

"They did have a scheme where parish councils could adopt the phone boxes but I believe they had so many applications they have stopped it."

Fellow member Janet Bowen said: "Let's just get rid of another bit of England. We don't know why they have to remove these phone boxes. I would just rather they removed the phone and leave the box - it's a landmark in the village."

Evelyn Birch said: "They have just painted the boxes and repaired them and now they want to remove them.

"I do think it's a facility. They are there for the public and I think even if we have got no hope of saving them we should still object."

Concerns were raised about the number of older people who live in the area and probably do not have a mobile phone or understand how to use them.

It was also pointed out that at least two of the threatened phone boxes are in locations where road accidents often happen.

A spokesman for BT said the plans were part of an ongoing national review. "We take each case on balance and listen to what people say but there is a commercial reality here - if they are not used, they are not used.,"

She said it should take about three months for a decision to be made.

The parish council decided to send a letter to BT outlining its concerns about the removal of all the telephone boxes.