Not a good call

It was sad to read in the Stirling Observer last week that nearly 50 per cent of the phone boxes across Stirling have been marked for closure. I was surprised to read that there were only 56 across the entire district; it appears that the slow death of the humble phone box has been going on for some time and I’ve just not noticed.

I have memories of being a teenager and phoning my dad from the box opposite the Allanpark Cinema for a lift home, or phoning from the boxes in the Thistle Centre hoping for a lift home with a heavy purchase.

What I would be keen to know is what are the reasons for using phone boxes and I would hope that BT have some data in this regard. Are the phones being used by people who have forgotten their mobile phones, or by people who can’t afford a mobile phone? Are they a convenience or a lifeline to the people who use them?

We should be wary of saying that a phone box used only a few times in a year is underperforming. In my community, the box outside of the Post Office was used only six times. If that’s six calls to order a pizza, I would agree that maintaining the box is an unrealistic expense for BT to bear. But if it were six calls to 999, then that phone box may well have saved somebody’s life.

Reducing the value of something down to simple statistics is a dangerous, double-edged sword. It is worth noting that Stirling Council have the power to overrule closure decisions from BT on many of the locations up for discussion. So if you have a strong view on any of the closures, get in touch with your community council or your local Stirling councillor.