Street Hub plans are blocked over anti-social behaviour concerns

Plans by BT to install a Street Hub on the pavement in Keynsham town centre have been refused, with police raising concerns about it becoming a magnet for anti-social behaviour (ASB) and drug-dealing.

How the proposed Street Hub would have look | Image © BT / Mitie

Bath & North East Somerset Council had flagged up several concerns during a formal pre-application consultation for the proposed installation on the High Street which BT wanted to put right between Poundland and Peacocks.

BT Street Hubs offer free public wi-fi, free UK calls, USB charging, an emergency services button and a range of other digital services. They aim to replace phone kiosks. BT said the High Street location was a more suitable site than the phone box kiosk near Tesco at Bristol Road which is to be removed.

The application said that the width of the pavement at this location is 4.3 metres and the proposed Street Hub would be 1.236 metres wide and 350mm deep.

Street Hubs are monitored remotely 24/7 and physically inspected at least every two weeks. BT had included a Street Hub anti-social behaviour management plan with the application. But Jason Price, a designing out crime officer who covers the B&NES area for Avon and Somerset Police, had reservations and consulted Sergeant Rob Turner from the local policing team for his views.

Sgt Turner said: “Poundland suffers the most ASB and theft in Keynsham, due to its location being on the main thoroughfare for both senior schools in Keynsham.”

He added: “Due to the suggested location, this would cause groups, predominantly young persons, to gather in an area that already suffers issues with ASB and theft and, from over 22 years of policing experience, exacerbate them. I do not believe this is a viable option and would cause a strain on policing in the area.”

Mr Price highlighted the High Street crime figures over the past 12 months – which included 56 incidents of ASB, 69 thefts, 40 of violence, 23 public order offences, five robberies, three of arson/criminal damage, five burglaries, five sexual and five vehicle offences.

He added: “The intention of the BT Street Hub device is to encourage the public to use generally high value mobile devices out in the public realm.

“Good crime reduction advice does recommend 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.

“The sites will also allow a potential offender to reasonably justify a reason for being in the vicinity, claiming that they are using the wi-fi facility.”

He acknowledged that BT had said features would be in place to mitigate misuse but “we would not want to be experiencing this in the first instance”.

He highlighted a point made by a design-out-crime officer in Tower Hamlets: “Our local CCTV operatives at Tower Hamlets have images showing groups of drug users forming an orderly queue to use the phone on these booths to order drugs using the free 30-second call that is provided.”

Mr Price said the pavement is a main thoroughfare which has already been narrowed outside Peacocks by a litter bin, electronic control equipment cabinet, and railings: “This would be narrowed further, creating an extended pinch point by groups gathering, potentially leading to conflict.”

He also warned about the glare from such units which can create problems for CCTV cameras, leading to footage being of such poor quality that it has no evidential value.

There were 27 objections from the public to the hub and Keynsham Town Council said it would be “an excessively large” sign in an already congested and cluttered section of the High Street and would harm the character if the historic market town.

B&NES councillor for Keynsham South Alan Hale (Independent) said: “This location is within the Keynsham Conservation Area and would significantly detract from the street scene as well as being intrusive to the free movement of pedestrians and disability scooters.

“The offer of free wi-fi merely replicates what most of the coffee shops offer already. There is no proven need or demand for such a creation.

“There is also a potential road safety issue with pedestrians being likely to step off of the kerb to negotiate it at busy times and step into or trip into the cycle lane where moving cycles can be encountered. I object.”

Councillor Alex Beaumont (Keynsham North, Liberal Democrat) also said it would not fit with the character of the High Street.

In refusing the proposal and the separate advertisement consent application, B&NES Council planners said the design, siting, scale and illumination would be harmful to the character and appearance of the street and compromise public safety and security.

The position, height, scale, illumination and appearance would harm the setting of nearby Grade II listed buildings, and the character and appearance of the conservation area, they added.