Communities urged to buy iconic red phone boxes for just £1

Ahead of the iconic red phone box turning 100 years of age, BT has revealed that around 1,000 of its kiosks are currently up for grabs across the UK for just £1 - and 20 of them are in Shropshire, with another 16 are dotted around the West Midlands in Sandwell, Dudley, South Staffordshire and Coventry.

Architect Sir Giles Gilbert Scott designed the first incarnation of the famous red phone box for a competition in 1924.

In recent years, however, with 98 per cent of the adult population now using a mobile phone, and significant improvements to mobile coverage, there has been a huge decline in the usage of payphones across the UK.

There are now around 20,000 remaining working payphones across the UK, around 3,000 of which are in traditional red kiosks. The number of phone boxes peaked in the 1990s at around 100,000.

BT is now urging communities to continue to take advantage of its kiosk adoption scheme to help transform its underused red phone boxes into other purposes.

Since BT introduced its Adopt a Kiosk programme in 2008, more than 7,200 phone boxes have been taken on by communities across the UK for just £1 each. The kiosks can be adopted by community or parish councils and registered charities.

Redundant phone boxes have been adopted and turned into a range of facilities over the years, from defibrillator units and libraries, to mini art galleries and local museums.

BT is continuing to review its remaining estate of payphones, removing those that are no longer being used, in line with rules set out by Ofcom, which revised its guidance last year on payphone removals, reflecting improvements made in mobile coverage and the number of calls made from individual payphones each year.

Michael Smy, head of street at BT, said: “With the vast majority of people now using mobile phones, and significant improvements to mobile coverage across the UK, we’ve continued to see a big drop in the number of calls made from payphones.

“That’s why we’re continuing to review our payphones estate, making sure we're prioritising the removal of those not being used, in line with Ofcom’s latest guidance.

“With the iconic red kiosk about to turn 100, it's a great opportunity to remind communities that would still like to retain their local kiosk to take it on for just £1 through our Adopt a Kiosk scheme. We’ve already seen some great kiosk conversions across the UK that have become valuable community assets.”

Communities can adopt a kiosk if they are a recognised public body, such as a parish council, community council or town council. For further information on how to apply to Adopt a Kiosk, go to bt.com/adopt

The full list of Shropshire call boxes up for adoption:

• High Street, Cleobury Mortimer

• Kinsley Road, Knighton

• Tenbury Wells

• Craven Arms, town centre

• Vernolds Common, Craven Arms

• Castle Square, Ludlow

• Clunbury, Craven Arms

• Twitchen, Craven Arms

• Wistanstow, Craven Arms

• All Stretton, Church Stretton

• Marshbrook, Church Stretton

• Church Stretton, town centre

• Springfield Way, Shrewsbury

• Abbey Foregate, Shrewsbury

• Lee Brockhurst, Shrewsbury

• Shawbury, Shrewsbury

• Ironbridge, Telford

• Coalford, Jackfield

Callboxes for adoption elsewhere in the West Midlands:

• Conduit Street, Lichfield (two call boxes)

• Bird Street, Lichfield

• Market Square, Stafford

• Market Square, Stafford

• Market Square, Stafford

• Codsall, Wolverhampton

• High Street, West Bromwich (two call boxes)