BT is offering communities across Powys the opportunity to adopt their local phone box for just £1 to turn them into something inspirational for their local area.
More than 400 traditional red boxes are available for adoption across Wales. BT will also consider adoption requests to house defibrillators in more modern boxes. BT is encouraging community groups to seize the opportunity to do something wonderful with phone boxes that have little or no usage. Already, nearly 88 payphones have been adopted by communities across Powys.
BT will continue to provide electricity (if already in place) to power the light for adopted kiosks, free of charge to communities. Where electricity is available, adopted boxes can be used as housings for defibrillators – an increasingly popular and potentially life-saving conversion. Other exciting new ventures include conversions to mini-libraries, miniature art museums, cake shops and information centres. One payphone in Devon was even turned into the 'world’s smallest nightclub'.
Commenting on the launch, Katherine Bradley, BT’s senior payphones commercial and operations manager, said: “We’re pleased to be giving even more local communities the chance to adopt a phone box. With nearly 400 payphones now adopted across Wales, this is a fantastic opportunity for communities to own a piece of history.
“The opportunities are endless and we’ve already seen some amazing transformations. Applying is easy and quick and we’re always happy to speak to communities about adopting our traditional BT red payphone boxes.”
Communities can adopt a kiosk if they are a recognised public body, such as a community council or town council. Boxes can also be adopted by registered charities or by individuals who have a payphone on their own land.
Most people now have a mobile phone and calls made from our public telephones have fallen by around 90 per cent in the past decade. BT is also replacing more than 1,000 payphones in major cities across the UK, with new digital hubs called InLinks as part of a joint venture with InLinkUK. Each InLink provides ultrafast, free public Wi-Fi, phone calls, device charging and a tablet for access to city services, maps and directions. InLink units are live in two Welsh cities – Cardiff and Swansea.
Tomos Hughes of Achub Calon y Dyffryn, a group working to get defibrillators into communities across Wales, said: “This scheme has enabled communities across Wales to purchase phone boxes for £1 and turn them into real community assets. The kiosks are often in rural and isolated areas, so having easy to use defibrillators, for local residents and tourists, could be a real life saver in future.
“Many of these phone boxes were not being used and were being vandalised. Being able to give them a new lease of life, and one that could save a life, has been fantastic. I would encourage other communities to take advantage of this scheme, before the remaining phone boxes are gone.”
For further details on how to apply to Adopt a Kiosk, simply go to www.bt.com/adopt where application forms and information can be found.
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