BT is intending to remove the last two working payphones from Westbury’s streets they say due to lack of use.
BT say that only 31 calls were made in the last 12 months and they have written to Wiltshire Council as part of a formal consultation process regarding their current programme of intended public payphone removals.
There are currently 71 public payphones in Wiltshire and all are proposed for removal unless there is an appeal before 28th January.
The two payphones earmarked for removal from Westbury are at the junction of Brook Lane and The Ham (which made 27 calls in the last 12 months) and Phoenix Rise, which was used only four times in the last 12 months.
In the letter to Wiltshire Council, BT said, “Overall use of payphones has declined by over 90 per cent in the last decade and the need to provide payphones for use in emergency situations is diminishing all the time, with at least 98 per cent of the UK having either 3G or 4G coverage.
“This is important because as long as there is network coverage, it’s now possible to call the emergency services, even when there is no credit or no coverage from your own mobile provider”
During a policy and resources meeting at Westbury Town Council, cllr Sheila Kimmins said, “I think it will be sad when we lose our phone boxes, because not everyone has a mobile phone. However, it seems inevitable that British Telecom are going to close them down if we don’t use them that much, but when they are used, it can and could be an emergency. So, I for certain would not like to see them removed from Westbury.”
Westbury Town Council then decided to lodge an appeal against the removal of all the phone boxes and asked that one phone box be left at The Ham, on the grounds of community and public safety of those who don’t have a mobile phone.
Chair of the policy and resources committee, cllr Ward Jones said, “If BT don’t allow us to retain one, we could use it as a way of promoting that if you don’t have a mobile phone, to make yourselves known to your neighbours and vice-versa if you know in particular that your neighbours don’t have a mobile phone, in case of an emergency.
“Alternatively, if we do retain one phone box, the council would look to place some signs around the town communicating where the only phone box in the town is located.”
