Wednesday 12 October 2016

Pay Phones Threatened

Once again, our public pay phones are under threat of closure by BT. This time, they're saying they wish to remove three, at Kilmory (above), Kilchoan and Sanna.

The Highland Council is conducting a two-stage consultation on the three listed. The consultation process is described here, and the pay phones threatened are on a list here. Ours are numbers 169, 170 and 171, and you can add your comment beside them.

Discussion at our local Community Council on Monday night centred round the need for some public phones for emergency calls in areas where there is little or no mobile signal. Kilchoan has good mobile coverage, Kilmory has some, and Sanna (above) has very poor reception. There is also the point that some of these are almost 'iconic' landscape features, worthy of preservation orders.

Apologies that the photos are dated.

5 comments:

  1. I think they should be allowed to stay, they are used by locals and tourists alike, soon there will not be any of the old red boxes left..... if they were in a town i am sure that they would already be protected..... Stuart

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  2. OMG, not the famous Kilmory phone box! We have just take the bi-annual family photo in it last week. Do these people not know it has it's own Facebook page! On a serious note, these phone box are very much need for emergencies as the reception all over Kilmory, Fascadale Branault, Swordle Achateny & Ockle is very poor and this would be one of the first place you would head for to call 999.

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  3. The phone box should be maintained. Notwithstanding its cultural status, as Mobile cover is so scratchy at best,this box provides the only consistent link to access emergency services.

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  4. If it is just a case of maintaing the box itself, I am sure that there would be people within the community very willing to do the upkeep themselves,.... but would BT agree????

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  5. I am aghast that there is a proposal to remove the phone box at Sanna. Mobile reception is almost non existent at Sanna and a MAINTAINED phone box is a vital safety feature. Alison Ward

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