Permission Refused for High Road Phone Kiosks
'Visually intrusive' have been criticised as being primarily for ad display
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A company seeking permission to install a number of solar-powered phone boxes on Chiswick High Road has had their application declined by Hounslow Council.
In the letter denying prior approval for the installation of the three boxes the Council state that they would be visually intrusive and 'would result in a cluttered environment that would fail to preserve the character and appearance of a conservation area'. There fore the proposal was deeming to be contrary to the local plan.
An example of the type of phone box proposed
The phone boxes, which are wheelchair accessible, have been rejected by a number of local authorities, and critics say their primary purpose is for the display of advertising rather than making phone calls.
The Warwickshire-based company, Infocus Public Networks Ltd, applied for 'prior approval' to site the phone boxes on the pavement at 120, 96, 135 Chiswick High Road (outside Insider Dealings Interior Design , Sainsbury Local, and the former Ballet Rambert) .
Local authorities, including Hammersmith & Fulham, Kensington & Chelsea, and Westminster have all said 'No' to the kiosks on grounds of siting and appearance - the only grounds on which a local authority can refuse 'prior approval'. Councils are not allowed to consider any advertising benefits which may accrue from the phone boxes as they are already the beneficiaries of 'deemed consent' from the regulatory body Ofcom.
Infocus, which describes itself as the UK's third public payphone operator, has challenged a number of local authorities for refusing to allow the phone boxes in their area. An attempt by the company to install fifteen phone boxes in Swindon, which was turned down by Wiltshire council, was partly overturned by the Planning Inspector who ruled that nine phone boxes could be sited in the town streets.
The payphone kiosks use mobile telephony for connection to other networks and the company says there are no invasive pavement works involved. They say the large windows deter the use of the kiosks for antisocial and criminal activity, and that there is still a need for public payphones for tourists, and ethnic minorities and those in wheelchairs.
The old-style kiosks are not allowed to be installed because they do not comply with disability regulations from Ofcom. BT has also removed hundreds of kiosks from UK streets due to the growth of mobile phone use.
The new style phone box would replace this one
Wiltshire Council has asked the government to give local authorities greater powers over the control of advertising on public payphones, following the Inspector's reversal of its decision, according to the Swindon Advertiser. The City of London also lost its attempt, on appeal, to prevent seven similar boxes in the Lambeth area.
Critics of the scheme say the phone boxes are a lucrative method of attracting commercial advertising to the company which installs them, and are not of any public benefit to disabled users as they take up more pavement surface than traditional kiosks and add to 'street clutter'.
In recent years hundreds of phone boxes have fallen into disrepair or been vandalised and BT has removed from UK streets, as fewer people use them due to the growth of mobile phone use.
March 26, 2016
