Comment | Read Comments (1)

Wherwell: Parish clerk Liz Blakemore, said: "We are appalled that removal of the phone box is even being considered and are not prepared to sit back and let it happen

RED telephone boxes could soon be almost as rare as the red squirrel in the Hampshire countryside - if BT plans to cull the payphone service go through unchallenged.

The company says that 43 Test Valley phone boxes must go. The vast majority of them are in rural locations with many of them the much-loved red boxes which once seemed to inhabit every other street.

BT says maintaining the boxes has always been an expensive duty but the popularity of the mobile phone means many phone boxes now get almost no use.

Among red boxes under threat are those at Hurstbourne Tarrant, Upton, Vernham Dean, Kimpton, Leckford and Wherwell.

Other villages including Longparish, Hatherden, Weyhill and Cottonworth will lose their modern boxes and some boxes in the urban area of Andover are also at the end of their line.

Parish councils can comment on possible closures to Test Valley Borough Council.

Wherwell parish clerk Liz Blakemore, said: "We are appalled that removal of the phone box is even being considered and are not prepared to sit back and let it happen. In the age of the mobile phone the use of the public phone box is not as great as it once was but it is part of the street scene and needs to be left for use by walkers and tourists.

"We are making a strong case for getting this box listed and English Heritage have been extremely helpful."

But the listing process could take up to six months leaving the council in a race to list the kiosk before possible removal.

Shipton Bellinger, which has two red boxes, will lose one but another near the pub looks likely to be one of a handful to remain.

A Test Valley Borough Council spokeswoman said: "The council has been asked to respond to proposals to close a number of pay phones.

"We will be asking for the views of parish councils before responding."

9:26am Monday 30th June 2008

Print

Email this

Comment

Add your comment

Name:
Email: *
Location:
**
	e.g. 123-123
Comment: Please note: All HTML tags will be ignored. Format Text:
By posting a comment, I confirm that I have read and agree to the terms of use. Comments are not moderated but we will react if anything that breaks the rules comes to our attention and we may delete inappropriate postings. Please treat other people with respect. You must not post anything that is abusive, indecent, unlawful or defamatory. Remember, you are personally liable for what you post on this site. If you wish to complain about a comment, contact us here.
* Your email address will not be displayed ** To avoid register now or login