Eight Telford phone boxes saved from closure
Public phone boxes in Shropshire's World Heritage site have been saved, it has been revealed.
A total of eight phone boxes in Telford, which had been earmarked for closure will stay in place.
This include one in The Square in Ironbridge.
The box made almost 600 calls last year, which, locals say, should have been enough to to justify its survival.
As well as The Square phone box, those saved from closure are phoneboxes in Southgate, Sutton Hill; Coalport; High Street, Edgmond; Brookside Ave, Newport; Stafford Road, Newport; Coalford, Jackfield and Audley Road, Newport.
A total of 30 phone boxes were under threat across the Telford & Wrekin Council area, with a further 214 up for closure in the Shropshire Council area. It is part of a widespread removal of boxes because of mobile phones and the internet.
BT says many phone boxes in rural locations aren't used at all and do not justify the cost of maintaining them.
But communities in rural locations say they act as a vital insurance policy in times of emergency, especially in a county where both mobile and broadband signals are patchy.
Last year BT carried out a consultation from October to December 2016 regarding the proposed closure of the public payphones around the borough.
Following the responses received, the borough council wrote to BT with the results, indicating which boxes should be retained, those for adoption, and those that could be removed.
Hadley & Leegomery Parish Council has also agreed to adopt the payphone at Horton.
Councillor Nicola Lowery, ward member for the Ironbridge Gorge on Telford & Wrekin Council, has welcomed the news.
Three phone boxes in her area have been saved, all of those affected by the proposals.
She said: "In the event of an emergency the payphones are a vital resource to the community and are also highly valued by those with limited communication links for everyday use.
"The Ironbridge Gorge faces the risk of flooding and land instability, therefore the management of risk and communication links are essential and removing the payphones has the potential to significantly affect public safety should we face such an event.
"Mobile coverage in Coalport and Coalford especially can in places be limited and unreliable, therefore it is imperative these public payphones are retained to ensure public safety.
“In addition to this, the payphone in the Square has the highest number of calls of any payphone listed within the proposed removal, with 570 calls being made in the last 12 months, therefore also evidencing the everyday need for a payphone in this location.
“I am therefore delighted that BT have decided to save these payphones from closure this time round, as they are a vital resource to the local community and a feature within the Gorge”.
