COMMUNITY groups in Evesham are being sought to breathe new life into BT’s iconic red telephone boxes including one in the heart of Evesham’s town centre.
The telephone box in Market Place outside Orto Lounge is one of 12 across Evesham and Pershore and 282 in the West Midlands being offered for adoption by the telephone provider for as little as £1.
BT will continue to provide electricity if already in place to power the light for adopted kiosks, free of charge. Where electricity is available, adopted boxes can be used as homes for defibrillators.
More unusual conversions for boxes already adopted around the country include mini-libraries, miniature art museums, cake shops and information centres.
Telephone boxes at a further 11 locations including one on Pershore High Street are being offered for adoption.
Phone boxes in Harvington (WR11 8NE), The Old Orchard in Broadway (WR12 7DW), Badsey High Street (WR11 7EW), in Bricklehampton (WR10 3HJ), Wick (WR10 3NZ), Harwell Lane in Besford (WR8 9AT) and in Wyre Piddle (WR10 2HR) are also up for grabs.
A pair of boxes in Inkberrow at WR7 4NA and WR7 4DZ are also being offered alongside one in Offenham (WR11 8QD).
More than 3,600 traditional red boxes are available for adoption across England and 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, more than 5,800 payphones have been adopted by communities since 2008.
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.
“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 parish council, community council town council or parish meeting. Boxes can also be adopted by registered charities or by individuals who have a payphone on their own land.
Visit www.bt.com/adopt where application forms and further information can be found.
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