Council turns down plan for BT 'street hubs' in town centre

Shropshire Council's Northern Planning Committee rejected a total of 12 separate applications from the communications giant for prominent locations around Shrewsbury.

The hubs would have had 75-inch LCD screens to display adverts, and would also have included ultra-fast Wi-Fi, USB ports for rapid charging, free phone calls, a direct 999 call button, as well as an interactive tablet to access local council services, support charities, the phone book, weather, maps and other items.

BT said they would also boost 4G and 5G in the area.

The proposal had been to have the hubs, which would have been 2.96 metres high, 1.23 metres wide, 0.35 metres deep, based at Claremont Bank, the junction between Smithfield Road and Chester Street, St Mary's Street, Castle Street, The Square, and near the market entrance in Shoplatch.

Under the plan phone boxes would also be removed from Castle Street, Market Street and Shoplatch.

Shropshire Council planning officer Jane Raymond, who presented the application to the committee, said that the hubs would be taller than the phone boxes they replaced.

The plans were recommended for refusal by planning officers, with the committee voting to back the recommendation.

The concerns over the proposals centred on the size of the hubs, and their impact on the historic landscape of the town and its listed buildings.

Highways officials had also raised concern over the size of the hubs and the impact they would have on space on pavements in the town.

Committee member Nat Green said: "I am in complete agreement with the officers report and views of the conservation officer, and where relevant in this application, the highways officer.

"There are the wrong size and quite often in the wrong place for this town."

He added: "The principle is right that Shrewsbury does need additional connectivity, but I have to say the centre of the town has been struggling to get fibre broadband for several years now so I have to say how can these things magically find 1GB per second?

"One has to be a little cynical here.

"What we need to do here is tell BT to go away, think again, something smaller in scale."

Councillor Vince Hunt added: "I do not like it, it is not appropriate."

Councillor David Vasmer said: "The scale of these units is far, far too much for Shrewsbury and the conservation area. They are too big."

Councillors voted to reject all six applications – and six joint applications asking for permission for the LCD advertising displays.