British Telecommunications plc
Programme of intended public payphone removals
Opened: 28 June 2019
Closes: 26 September 2019
Dear Chief Planning Officer,
Further to our previous letter, we are writing to you as part of a formal consultation process regarding our current programme of intended public payphone removals. This letter formally starts our consultation with you and the local community.
There are currently 11 public payphones in your area [Borough of Ashford] which have been identified and proposed for removal by BT under the 90-day consultation process and details of these payphones are shown below.
To ensure that the local community are fully informed, we have placed consultation notices on the relevant payphones,and a sample notice is enclosed. We have also included the date we posted these notices on
the payphones. The consultation period will close on 26 September 2019. Unless you contact us to agree otherwise, responses received after this date will not be accepted.
This consultation process gives your local communities the opportunity to adopt a traditional red ‘heritage’ phone box and make them an asset that local people can enjoy. It’s really simple to do and it costs just £1-
http://bt.com/adopt
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 percent 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.
You may also want to consider the recent Ofcom affordability report which found that most people do not view payphones as essential for most consumers in most circumstances –
https://stakeholders.ofcom.org.uk/binaries/research/affordability/affordability_report.pdf
On the 14th March 2006 the Office of Communications (Ofcom) published a statement following their 2005 review of universal service in the Telecommunications market, which includes a requirement for payphone
provision to meet reasonable needs. Part of that statement amended our obligations with regard to the removal of payphone service
https://www.ofcom.org.uk/__data/assets/pdf_file/0021/34266/statement.pdf
As stated in Ofcom’s 2005 review,it is the responsibility of the local authority to initiate its own consultation process to canvas the views of the local community. They would normally expect these consultations to involve other public organisations such as the Parish or Community councils and work within the terms of the Communications Act 2003. This means that you must be able to objectively justify your decisions.
Full guidance on the removal process can be viewed at:
http://stakeholders.ofcom.org.uk/binaries/consultations/uso/statement/removals.pdf
and a summary is available at:
https://stakeholders.ofcom.org.uk/binaries/consultations/uso/statement/removing_callboxes.pdf
The guidance also details the appeals process we must follow in case of unreasonable objections.
To comment
To respond to this consultation comment via the Ashford Borough Council planning website:
Case Ref: 19/00971/AS
https://planning.ashford.gov.uk/Planning/details.aspx?systemkey=112888
| Telephone Number | Address | Post Code | Number of calls in last 12 months | Posting Completed Date | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 01227 730243 | JCN SOLESHILL RD PCOl SOLESHILL ROAD SHOTTENDEN CANTERBURY | CT4 8JR | 0 | 24/06/2019 |
| 2 | 01227 730327 | O/S VILLAGE HALL LONG HILL PCOl LOWER LEES ROAD OLD WIVES LEES CANTERBURY | CT4 8AS | 1 | 24/06/2019 |
| 3 | 01233 503787 | ADJ BUS LAYBY PCOl MOATFIELD MEADOW KINGSNORTH ASHFORD | TN23 3LU | 17 | 25/06/2019 |
| 4 | 01233 632569 | O/S POST OFFICE GREAT CHART PCOl THE STREET GREAT CHART ASHFORD | TN23 3AN | 3 | 25/06/2019 |
| 5 | 01233 642908 | JCN LENACRE ST PCOl SANDYHURST LANE ASHFORD | TN25 4PF | 0 | 25/06/2019 |
| 6 | 01233 643156 | JCN MAYPITS PCOl BEAVER LANE ASHFORD | TN23 5PA | 89 | 25/06/2019 |
| 7 | 01233 732336 | PCO PCOl WOODCHURCH ROAD SHADOXHURST ASHFORD | TN26 1LF | 1 | 25/06/2019 |
| 8 | 01233 756339 | OPP PUBLIC HOUSE PCOl THE STREET EGERTON ASHFORD | TN27 9DJ | 0 | 24/06/2019 |
| 9 | 01233 840211 | O/S VILLAGE HALL PCOl THE STREET LITTLE CHART ASHFORD | TN27 0QB | 0 | 24/06/2019 |
| 10 | 01303 813180 | JCN THE WARREN PCOl LEES ROAD BRABOURNE LEES ASHFORD | TN25 6QE | 0 | 25/06/2019 |
| 11 | 01580 762370 | JCN WITH CRANBROOK RD PCOl ROLVENDEN ROAD TENTERDEN | TN30 6TY | 1 | 25/06/2019 |
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