independent Cornish news and comment

British Telecom to Remove Payphones

This week British Telecom has written to the District Councils across Cornwall indicating that they will be removing a large number of payphones from the region, citing the costs of maintenance, vandalism and money collection as reasons. Councils have until mid- July to submit objections to the plans. BT has also announced they will remove a number of payphones which are within 400 metres of another one, without consultation.


Cornish Liberal Democrats attended a special briefing on the plans this morning, and challenged senior BT executives to justify their proposals, which will disproportionately affect rural areas.

Colin Breed said:

“In South East Cornwall we will be losing 10 payphones outright and another 45 if they reject our objections. Their policy blames the rise of mobile phones for the demise of payphone use, but ignores the fact that some people still do not have a mobile phone. For some, payphones remain a vital tool for contacting relatives, especially in areas with poor mobile phone reception.”

Dan Rogerson said:

"BT still has not provided detailed information as to the cost of running each of the call boxes which are now under threat. My concern is that expensive repairs for vandalism in urban areas are being used as a smokescreen to remove a rural service actually costs very little to maintain.

"It is important that anyone who is concerned that their phone box is under threat writes to their local MP or district council to ensure their views are heard.