One in five of phone boxes may be cut off
ONE in five public phone boxes in Rochdale could be heading for the end of the line.
BT has earmarked 14 payphones across the town for removal, as usage of them has dropped dramatically over the last decade.
But while five booths have not seen a single call made over the past 12 months - including those at the junction of Copenhagen Road and Entwisle Road, in Wardleworth, and on Halifax Road, Littleborough others have been relatively well-used.
Nearly 280 calls were made from the phone box near Dina’s Off Licence, on Crescent Road, Marland, while almost 290 calls have been placed from the kiosk on Whittle Street, in Littleborough - both of which face the axe.
BT says it will consult with Rochdale council about the proposals and has pledged not to remove any phone boxes if it receives any objections.
A spokesperson said: “Any removal of payphones is carried out in strict adherence to the Ofcom guidelines and, where appropriate, with the consent of local authorities.
“In all instances where there’s no other payphone within 400 metres, we’ll ask for consent from the local authority to remove the payphone.”
Coun Robert Clegg, who represents Wardle and West Littleborough, said he was ‘disappointed’ by the proposals, but could see the reasoning behind them.
He added: “It’s disappointing but I can well understand, given how many people now have mobile phones, that the usage of some of the boxes has all but stopped.
“When you go out now everybody but everybody has a mobile phone, so I suspect there was almost an inevitability about it.”
And Coun Billy Sheerin, ward councillor for Castleton, added: “If a phone box is not there you have taken away a vital, essential commodity. I am upset that these facilities are being taken away from us, but if a company is losing money from it I can’t argue to keep them on.
“The other thing that is important to mention is that no one has complained to me as a ward councillor. I have not received any objections myself, so that makes it a bit difficult to put a case forward that there’s a major issue with them being withdrawn.”