Rural concerns over threat to phone boxes
A consultation was this week launched on the future of a number of public phone boxes in rural Stirling area.
Twenty-one pay phones across the Stirling Council area have been earmarked for removal by telecommunications firm BT due to a lack of use.
Some of the devices have not been used at all over the last 12 months.
Phone booths located at Drymen Station, Croftamie; Balmaha Road, Drymen; Rowardennan; Borestone Crescent, St Ninians; Main Street, Thornhill; and Keltie Bridge, Callander were not used a single time in the last year and are now under threat.
In Stirling, boxes at Drip Road and Halfway House at Broadleys Industrial Park, off Kerse Road, as well as the one at Kippendavie Avenue, Dunblane, have been shortlisted for the axe. In total, the 21 phones under threat have been used less than 900 over the same period.
BT has blamed a dramatic drop in usage over the last ten years for the consultation. A spokesperson said: “Most people now have a mobile phone and calls made from our public telephones have fallen by around 90 per cent in the past decade. We consider a number of factors before consulting on the removal of payphones, including whether others are available nearby and usage.
“In Stirling, we have made 21 applications to remove payphones. As part of the consultation we are also offering communities the chance to adopt traditional red ‘heritage’ phone boxes for just £1 through our Adopt a Kiosk scheme and transform them into something inspirational for their local area.”
The telecommunications firm will consider adoption requests to house life-saving defibrillators in more modern kiosks. BT will continue to provide electricity, if already in place, to power the light for adopted booths, free of charge to communities.
To date, boxes in Inversnaid, Balquhidder, Gartmore, Callander, Arnprior, Gargunnock, Doune, Bridge of Allan, Dunblane, Killin, Drymen, Blanefield, Strathblane, Dumgoyne and Balfron have been adopted.
Stirling Council and Loch Lomond and the Trossachs National Park have been asked to co-ordinate a response to the consultation. A council spokesperson said: “All relevant community councils are in the process of being informed with comments invited, while posters displaying contact details have been put up in each payphone. There are three options open for each payphone – if it is a red ‘heritage’ payphone, communities can buy them for £1 and use it for another purpose; an objection to the removal of the payphone can be lodged; no objection is lodged and the payphone is removed.”
Four devices in Callander, including the one at Keltie Bridge, are included on the hit list. The one in Camp Place was used four times and the one at Glenfinglas Road, Brig o’Turk, was used just twice. The phone in South Church Street is one of the most often used on the axe list, having been used 211 times.
Trossachs and Teith Tory councillor, Martin Earl, has expressed concerns that certain booths included in the consultation are still commonly used. He said: “We need to be very careful before agreeing to payphones being removed. Some on this list are still having a significant number of calls made from them and others may be in areas where there is still no decent mobile signal and could be needed in an emergency. It only needs to be available for that one call that could make all the difference. Community councils are best placed to know and their decisions will have my full support.”
Callander Community Council chairman, Chris Corden said: “Ours is a thriving community with a growing population and the removal of the South Church Street payphone would be a loss to our residents. There are also areas, such as Brig o’Turk, with very limited mobile reception so the pay phone there, whilst it may not be used very often, is invaluable for emergencies. If any residents have concerns, they should contact the Community Council and we will ensure these are passed on to the relevant bodies.”
The deadline for responding is September 16. Comments can be sent to Planning@stirling. gov.uk or planning@lochlomond-trossachs. org.