By Maureen Sugden
FOR generations, they have been instantly recognisable symbols of the British landscape. But BT is planning to remove hundreds of remaining phone boxes from across Scotland.
There are still kiosks in operation?
A few thousand of them in communities across the country, but BT has earmarked 650 for closure.
Didn’t BT already close hundreds of them?
A previous round of cuts a few years ago saw about 1,500 taken out of active service in Scotland. In 2016, the highest phone box in the UK, which sits 2,150 ft up at the Cairngorms ski-slope, was saved from being scrapped following a campaign.
I haven’t used a kiosk in years.
You’re not alone then. BT says calls made from public telephones have plunged by around 90 per cent in the past decade, due largely to the surge in mobile phone use.
They look so striking.
Recognised as an icon of British culture around the world, they are chocolate-box aesthetically pleasing. Designed by architect Sir Giles Gilbert Scott in the 1920s, they are made of cast iron and Sir Giles chose the colour red to make them easy to pick out. From 1926 onwards, the fascias were emblazoned with a crown to represent the British government.
Isn’t there one really famous phone box?
The most famous one is probably in the coastal village of Pennan, Aberdeenshire, which featured in the classic Bill Forsyth movie, Local Hero, in 1983, as a way for Texan oil executive “Mac”, played by Peter Riegert, to communicate with his boss, Burt Lancaster.
So what is BT proposing?
To remove 20 per cent of the remaining phone boxes from service. In the last round of cuts, hundreds of the red boxes were “adopted” by communities for a range of uses. In Comrie, Perthshire, the phone box became home to a defibrillator, while a box in Portobello, Edinburgh, was transformed into an art installation.
How much is it to adopt a phone box?
Adoption is just £1. A BT spokeswoman said: “As part of the consultation, we are also offering communities the chance to adopt traditional red ‘heritage’ phone boxes for just £1 through our Adopt a Kiosk scheme and transform them into something inspirational.”
How many boxes would be left if the cuts went ahead?
About 2,600 across Scotland, but BT say boxes will remain in areas with no mobile phone coverage, although at least 98 per cent of the UK presently has either 3G or 4G, so BT say the “need to provide payphone for use in emergency situations is diminishing all the time”.
The decision isn’t yet final?
Councils are carrying out a consultation process now. The most affected areas would be the Highlands, with 110 boxes in the firing line, and the Scottish Borders, at 95. Glasgow could lose six and Edinburgh could lose eight.
Members of the public are being encouraged to get involved in the consultation process.
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