Plans to install an illuminated BT Street Hub on a city centre pavement have been submitted to Bath & North East Somerset Council.
How the proposed Street Hub would look | Image © BT
Aiming to replace phone kiosks, Street Hubs offer free public wi-fi, free UK calls, USB charging, an emergency services button and a range of other digital services.
Advertising consent is being sought to replace the kiosk outside No. 6 New Street, which has an ATM in it, with a Street Hub near Silcox Coffee (5-7 New Street) displaying two digital 75-inch LCD screens.
BT submitted a similar application for a Street Hub in Southgate Place in the city centre in 2023 but it was withdrawn before the council could make a decision.
The police designing out crime officer for B&NES has lodged an objection in principle, warning that the Street Hub would attract street-based anti-social behaviour (ASB), begging and street drinking.
Recently BT’s plans for a Street Hub on the pavement near Poundland in Keynsham High Street were refused by B&NES Council.
BT had said the High Street location was a more suitable site than the current phone box kiosk near Tesco at Bristol Road, which is to be removed.
But the police designing out crime officer Jason Price had raised concerns about the proposed Street Hub becoming a magnet for ASB and highlighted the case of one in Tower Hamlets in London, where people had been seen forming an orderly queue to use the phone on the booth to order drugs using the free 30-second call provided.
Mr Price also said that good crime reduction advice recommends that to protect yourself from street robbery you should keep your mobile phone and other valuables out of sight: “It therefore becomes a personal safety issue, with users open to street robbery.”
And he warned that the glare from such units can create problems for CCTV cameras, leading to footage being of such poor quality that it has no evidential value.
Concerns had also been raised by local councillors and 27 members of the public.
In refusing the proposal for the Street Hub, B&NES Council planners said the design, siting, scale and illumination would harm the character and appearance of Keynsham High Street and compromise public safety and security.
The position, height, scale, illumination and appearance would also harm the setting of nearby Grade II listed buildings, and the character and appearance of the town’s conservation area.
BT says that Street Hubs will help future-proof the high street making them “smarter, safer, and more sustainable”.
The planning reference for the proposed installation in New Street is 25/04774/AR.
The deadline for comments is 29th January.
