Yours for just £1 ... red telephone box facing end of line
WONDERING what to get the person who has everything this Christmas - well how about an unwanted phone box?
BT are proposing to get rid of 35 of Stockport’s 153 public payphones, saying they are no longer viable.
It follows a 90 per cent decline in payphone usage over the last decade as people become increasingly reliant on mobile phones.
And among the 35 there are three of the traditional red phone boxes, which BT has made the subject of an Adopt a Kiosk scheme.
They can be adopted for £1 and then used in an alternative manner.
A BT spokesman said: “The growth of the mobile phone industry has inevitably meant phone box usage has dropped dramatically.
“Nearly half of the phone boxes in the UK have been removed, but red phone boxes can be adopted.
“We’re giving communities the opportunity to make them once again an asset that people can enjoy. And that does not mean that you have to make phone calls from them.
“Thousands of people have already come up with a fantastic array of ideas to re-use their local phone box.”
The red phone boxes in Stockport are located at Houldsworth Square, Reddish, on Parkside Lane, Mellor, and outside the Devonshire Arms pub, on Longhurst Lane, also Mellor.
Concerns over losing so many payphones at once were raised by members of a central area committee meeting.
Councillor Richard Coaton said: “I understand why because everyone carries a mobile phone. But I wonder how many are used for emergency calls.”
The proposed removal is currently out to consultation, which ends on December 21.
Coun Daniel Hawthorn told the meeting he was also reluctant to see the demise of so many payphones.
He said: “You can adopt a phone box for £1, maybe one of our residents will want to buy one.”
Among alternative uses that have been provided by the scheme are phone kiosks becoming a giant plant pot for flowers and a miniature pop-up art gallery. Anyone interested in adopting a phone box can email payphones@bt. com.