BT payphones

This page includes any ongoing consultations by BT with ourselves as the 'relevant public body', as well as completed consultations.

We're seeking final feedback from the public as well as from any interested bodies (including parish councils and town councils), after BT commenced consultation with us regarding the proposed removal of 61 payphones across the county. This consultation runs through until 12 June, following an extension agreed due to the local elections.

These payphones are a mix of traditional style red K6 kiosks and modern style KX100 kiosks. Red kiosks may be adopted by town and parish councils and charitable organisations for any community use; modern style kiosks can only be adopted to house defibrillators. Individuals can't adopt kiosks themselves.

A total of 13 of the red K6 kiosks are listed, meaning that the structures won't be removed should there not be any local interest in their adoption. BT have advised that in that scenario the kiosk structure would be locked by them following the removal of the operational telephony.

We'd like to thank town and parish councils for their input to date in the responses that we're proposing to make for these payphones. We've also had responses from local residents.

A final draft response has now been prepared, and is available via this page, titled 2025 BT Consultations Listing May Update.

If there is anything else that people would like to send in, please email lois.dale@shropshire.gov.uk by 5pm on Monday 9 June. This will help us to add these in before we send our final submission to BT at the end of that week.

In the meantime, thank you to those who have responded already, including those who wish to adopt their kiosk for community usage.

We have a set of online resources to support local parish and town councils with regard to BT payphones.

The resources have been developed with Historic Environment colleagues to include FAQs about adopting kiosks, and about caring for kiosks.

The council no longer has the power of veto over removals, following changes made by Ofcom to the universal service obligation placed on BT and KCOM, which came into effect in June 2022 after a period of national consultation. Ofcom have instead replaced the local veto with a set of criteria to assess reasonable user needs prior to the removal of a ‘last at a site’ payphone or public call box (PCB).

The Ofcom criteria sets out to protect last at a site PCBs where:

• They don't have coverage from all four mobile network providers; or
• They're located in an area with a high frequency of accidents or suicides; or
• They've made 52 or more calls over the past 12 months (ie the equivalent of one call per week); or
• There's other evidence of a reasonable need for the PCB

Please note that PCB adoption can't be made by individuals, and can't take place if the criteria for removal isn't met. For example, BT records may indicate that mobile phone coverage isn't sufficient at a site, or that the PCB in question is the one that they've decided should remain as 'last at a site'. Ofcom advises that: “A site is defined as 400 metres walking distance from the next nearest PCB.”

Ofcom carried out the consultation in November 2021 around proposed changes to the universal service obligation placed upon BT and KCOM. Shropshire Council was one of the 25 respondents to this consultation. Our response is included on this page, along with the subsequent Ofcom report of June 2022.