Calls to protect 60 "crucial" Shropshire phone boxes

Across Shropshire, there are 60 boxes which could go but calls for the local authority to use their "veto" to protect them have been made.

Paul Butters, a Liberal Democrat campaigner in the region, says telephone boxes still handle 33,000 calls a day throughout the country.

But says BT are planning to remove around 20, 000 in the next few years - with 137 being axed in the region - 60 of which are in Shropshire.

Mr Butters said: "I'm really seeing red over these plans to axe something vital from our streets. The Liberal Democrats are demanding that local councils write to BT to say that they will veto every single phone box closure in their area.

"Rather than removing these phone boxes BT should focus on making sure everyone can access a phone signal wherever they live.

"It is really important in case of emergencies because if it saves one person's life having a phone box, or helps someone in trouble then its really crucial we keep these phone boxes."

If the telecoms provider seeks to remove the only phone booth on the site, Ofcom rules state BT must inform the public and consult with the local authorities.

The authority then has 90 days to object, which is known as a "local veto" - which Mr Butters is calling on councils to use to protect the phone boxes.

He added: "BT are blaming the rise of mobile phones for cutting the iconic phone boxes throughout the region.

"However, phone booths are still used by children, the elderly, people who can't afford mobile phones, and in emergencies when phone batteries go flat."

The area with the most amount of phone boxes at risk by more than triple is Shropshire with 60. But elsewhere in the region, there are 18 at risk in Dudley, 17 in both South Staffordshire and

Wyre Forest, 14 in Sandwell and 11 in Wolverhampton.

Parish councils and community groups have stepped in to snap them up to find a new use for the boxes after the phone has been removed.

Paying just £1, BT removes the phone before the community group takes responsibility for the box.

Some turn them into second-hand book shops, art galleries or leave them as an empty phone box.

Across the country, 8,000 are up for adoption – with dozens in Shropshire and Mid Wales.

Emma Tennant, from BT, said that if the local authority did not want the phone box removed then their request would be granted.

She said: “We are committed to providing a public payphone service, but with usage declining by over 90 per cent in the last decade, we’ve continued to review and remove payphones which are no longer needed.

“Any removal of payphones is carried out in strict adherence to the Ofcom guidelines. A and, where appropriate, with the consent of local authorities.

“If the local authority does not want us to remove a phone box then we won’t. Overall, more than half of our estate is loss-making, with a third make less than one call a month.”