Dawlish Discussion

This planning application will be discussed at the next Dawlish Town Council Planning Committee meeting being held on Thursday 20th October. Four boxes proposed for removal are in Dawlish.

Old Town Street

Newlands

Ashcombe

St. Mary's Cottages 

Reference: 16/02630/CONSLT

Location: Various sites in Teignbridge

Proposal: Consultation from British Telecom on the removal of 52 phone boxes

Applicant: British Telecom PLC

http://gis.teignbridge.gov.uk/TeignbridgePlanningOnline/SearchResults.aspx?SearchReference=16/02630

Does anyone use phoneboxes anymore? I always thought they were just incubators for germs. Where I used to live in the 1960's people used to vandalise them and/or urinate in them.

According to the info provided by BT, the number of calls made from the boxes I've listed above during the past 12 months is as follows:

Old Town Street - 6 calls

Newlands - 1 call

Ashcombe - 0 calls

St. Mary's Cottages - 0 calls 

@Lynne - maybe they could make more money replacing them as the french style urinals, just a thought.

Maybe the boxes could be saved and used as artwork/decoration around the town to add to the character of the place.  They could be locked shut and used as notice board with adverts in the windows, so many things, but it would be a shame to lose them.  Lots have gone abroad I believe, so if not that expensive, if we can afford to purchase them as a community, then I think we should.  There is some awful art work put up these days, but attractive phone boxes are disgarded, what a shame.  Maybe DTC could set up a fund to buy them, I am sure people would contribute.  Just a thought.

Given that the public are going to be encouraged to use the St Mary's cottages locality, via the permanent SANGS location,  I wonder if there would be any mileage in keeping the phone box to store a defribrillator in? Parish councils that have already responded to this BT consultation have raised the same point.

Another thing, and again this refers to the permanent SANGS location, is do we know what the mobile phone reception is like on it ? Presumably that can be checked. Only raise this point as should the coverage be iffy then in the event of an emergency a landline at St Mary's cottages (with defribillator in place) could be a life saver.

BTW How many, if any, of the four boxes located in Dawlish are the red ones?  

Info on how to adopt a phone box can be found here https://business.bt.com/solutions/small-business/communities/adopt-a-kiosk-how-it-works/      

What a great idea to adopt a phone box

I went in one of the two phone boxes near the Marine Tavern a few weeks ago, I got a face full of cobwebs. Clearly they aren't used much.

Nice to keep the traditional red one at the bottom of Queen Street.

A few weeks ago i saw one in a remote village on the Isle of SKye turned into a lending library for tourists and then saw one near Gairloch with tomatoes growing in it and a sign saying please help yourself with a collection box for Cancer Research.

·         Telephone boxes - clerksandcouncilsdirect.co.uk

www.clerksandcouncilsdirect.co.uk/content.asp?id=18

I WAS reading your news story about new uses for old telephone boxes ... failure have helped to install a defibrillator in their village’s old red telephone box.

·         Top 10 Creative Uses For Old Red Phone Boxes

theverybesttop10.com/repurposed-red-telephone-boxes

Some people take recycling to a whole new level. By looking at some creative uses for old red phone boxes I was hoping to get some repurposing inspiration.

·         Unusual uses for the red phone box - Telegraph

www.telegraph.co.uk/.../Unusual-uses-for-the-red-phone-box.html

Thanks to the mobile the good old red phone box is almost redundant. However, ... Unusual uses for the red phone box

·          

Elsewhere the kiosks have been extensively used to arrange drug transactions/drop-offs without a mobile number being revealed (for tracing by the police).  Seems our locality hasn't raised that demand, as Lynne's usage stats show.

Dial M for makeover as BT gives phoneboxes a futuristic facelift. BT, so the Daily Mail states, is attempting to make phoneboxes more relevant by offering free calls, superfast wi fi internet and charging points in the kiosks.

The facilities - branded as link sites - will also have touch screen computers which offer access to maps, directions and local services. The service would be funded by advertising on the displays.

The only offer Dawlish gets is to have them removed!!!!!!!!!!, Would it not be worth while to have one installed outside the Tourist centre for times when it is not open?

This is an agenda item on tomorrow (weds. 2nd Nov) Dawlish full town council meeting.

Just for info - all last week I couldn't get any mobile phone service in the cottage where I was staying. Which was quite amazing really given as I was located so very near (between West and East Dundry since you ask) to a big city (Bristol).

Really messed up my going off for walks by myself (would there be any signal if I should fall and need help?) and going off into Bristol by myself (I couldn't phone to my other half and say can you come and pick me up please).

Just thought to relay that experience in case there are any mobile reception issues in any of the areas where it is proposed the boxes should be removed.    

Drove past the box at the top end of Newlands yesterday and not surprised that BT want to remove it.

Not one piece of glass in it and if a defribulator was put in there, how long would that last?

On the issue of defribulators - noticed that in the centre of Bath a red telephone box had been turned into a defribulator location.  

I wonder how we managed before the mobile phone i walked the mountains of the lake District without a mobile had a 7 mile walk to School no mobile i look forwartd to the day when a solar storm wipes out the mobile network and we can get back to real conversations. To add to that i have just spent a week climbing in the Lakes my mobile left at home.  I find it very strange to see folk on the top of a mountain with the best views in the world playing games on there mobiles. 

As it happens I rarely use my mobile. Only have it on when I go out of the house. I value it for its ability to let me communicate (mobile service allowing of course) should I find myself in an emergency/dangerous situation.  And also to let

people know where I am if I alter where it is I told them that  I was going. Again, a safety precaution.

But maybe I think that way bec ause I am female.      

This is what Dawlish Town Council has requested of TDC

RESOLVED to inform the Planning Authority that Dawlish Town Council requests that the two telephone boxes (payphone kiosks) at Ashcombe and St Mary Cottages be retained.

Strange how nobody gave a monkeys a few weeks ago as per usual its so simple use the phone box but who wants to certainly not me.

Perhaps, like me, people have been deliberately put off using telephone boxes. I had to use one on Exeter St David's Station a few years ago when I left home without my mobile phone and was away for three or four days so really did need it. This was before I had a dongle for my iPad and GWR provided wifi. I entered the phone box with change in hand only to find, due to the limited coinage it would accept, I had to use a credit card! It took me longer to put in the cc details than to punch in the phone number, it was a very stressful experience, why would anyone want to repeat it?