Under threat: Cllr Neil Butters, Lib Dem Parliamentary Candidate Gail Coleshill, and residents in Monkton Combe next to the threatened village phone box.Telephone boxes in 6 villages just outside Bath are once again under threat of removal by BT. Notices have been posted in the traditional, red boxes offering local communities the opportunity to ‘adopt’ the boxes without the telephone service so as to preserve them as a heritage feature. However if the box is adopted, the telephone service will be withdrawn. And if it is not adopted, they will press for closure anyway.
At a meeting of Monkton Combe Parish Council on 25th August 2009 several Parish Councillors expressed concerns about the move and pointed to the facts that there are 400 young people in the village, and that mobile phone coverage is in effect restricted to Vodaphone.
Councillor Neil Butters (Liberal Democrat, Bathavon South) said:
“Six out of seven telephone boxes in this area are now under threat – another local service at risk. This follows BT’s threatened removal of the service in Midford and Shoscombe last year which residents successfully saw off.
“I believe that there is a good case for retaining the telephone service to these kiosks given the poor mobile phone signal in the area and the fact that not everyone has access to a mobile phone. The geographical separation of the villages also means the service can be vital in an emergency situation.”
