BT, Britain’s biggest telecommunications company, manages phone boxes that historically allowed people to make urgent phone calls through a paid service.
In recent years, BT has been engaged in a project to replace the outdated boxes with ‘Street Hubs’ which offer free calls, public WiFi and double-sided screens for advertising.
There are currently four Street Hubs in Broad Street, and one each in Market Place, St Mary’s Butts and West Street in the town centre.
BT recently applied to install street hubs on the pavements outside Great Brighams Mead in Vastern Road, in Church Street, Caversham, the Esso fuel station at 856 Oxford Road, and outside a row of shops in Shinfield Road.
BT set to replace phone boxes in Reading in THESE locations
But all of these applications to replace the phone boxes have been rejected by Reading Borough Council after concerns about road safety and navigating the pavement were raised.
The council’s highways department objected to the hubs, arguing that they would distract drivers from the road, increasing the risk of crashes.
A report into the plan for the hub in Vastern Road states: “Given that all advertisements are intended to attract attention, particularly if they are facing on-coming traffic, it is the Highway Authority’s view that the proposed sequencing images, would cause distraction for drivers with a consequential risk of rear-end shunts.”
The design for the planned BT Street Hub to replace the phone box on the pavement outside Great Brighams Mead in Vastern Road. (Image: BT / Mitie Telecoms / Google Maps)
The objection raised to the proposed street hub in Oxford Road mentions that there have been four crashes at the location in the last three years, with another eight crashes happening in and around the Norcot junction over the same period.
The planned BT Street Hub outside the Norcot fuel station in Oxford Road, Reading. (Image: BT / Mitie Telecoms / Google Maps)
The council’s access officer also objected to all of the plans, arguing that the ‘oversaturation’ of street furniture causes navigation difficulties for people with disabilities and wheelchair users.
For the application in Caversham, the officer noted that wheelchair users face obstructions from the poles that hold up St Martin’s Precinct.
The planned BT Street Hub on the pavement outside 29 Church Street, Caversham. (Image: BT / Mitie Telecoms)
Plans for the four Smart Hubs were all rejected by the council’s planning department in November last year.
However, the applications to replace the phone boxes could still go ahead as BT has appealed against the verdicts for three of the locations to the government’s planning inspectorate.
Appeals have been launched for the Street Hub applications in Vastern Road, Oxford Road and Church Street.
These submissions are noted in a report into recent appeals to the council’s planning applications committee, which will be presented at a meeting on January 7.
An appeal against the refused Street Hub in Shinfield Road has not been submitted yet.
The plan for the BT Street Hub on the pavement outside 239 Shinfield Road, Reading. (Image: BT / Mitie Telecoms / Google Maps)
You can view the refused applications using the planning references below.
- Great Brighams Mead – PL/25/1351 and PL/25/1356
- Shell Norcot – PL/25/1353 and PL/25/1358
- 29 Church Street, Caversham – PL/25/1352 and PL/25/1357
- 239 Shinfield Road – PL/25/1354 and PL/25/1359
