BT set to pull plug on 61 hardly-used Shropshire payphones - including 16 that haven't been used once in a year
Sixty-one of Shropshire's public phone boxes could be removed - with several having not been used to make a single call in a whole year.
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Plans to withdraw 61 of Shropshire's public payphones, 13 of which are in traditional red telephone boxes, from use have been revealed.
The thoughts of the public, as well as parish and town councils, are being sought after BT commenced consultation with Shropshire Council about their proposed removal.
These payphones are in a mix of traditional-style red K6 kiosks and modern-style KX100 kiosks. If the plans go ahead, all 61 phones would be disconnected, but many of the kiosks could also be removed if they are not "adopted" by local communities.
Red kiosks may be adopted by town and parish councils and charitable organisations, for any community use, whereas modern kiosks can only be adopted to house defibrillators.
The 13 red K6 kiosks are listed, meaning that the structures will not be removed should there not be any local interest in their adoption. BT have advised that in that scenario, the kiosk would be locked following the removal of the payphone technology.
Public phone boxes are protected if they meet critera set out by Ofcom, which includes sites that do not have coverage from all four mobile network providers, if they are in areas with a high frequency of accidents or suicides or if there is other evidence of a 'reasonable need'.
