BT offers communities the chance to ‘adopt’ their local phone box for just £1

BT is offering communities across the North East the opportunity to adopt their local phone box for just £1 to turn them into something inspirational.
Communities could 'adopt' a BT phone box.Communities could 'adopt' a BT phone box.
Communities could 'adopt' a BT phone box.

More than 30 traditional red boxes are available for adoption across the North East 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 50 payphones have been

adopted by communities in the North East since 2008.

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BT will continue to provide electricity (if already in place) to power the light for adopted kiosks, free of charge to communities. Where electricity is available, adopted boxes can be used as housings for defibrillators – an increasingly popular and potentially life-saving conversion. Other exciting new ventures include conversions to mini-libraries, miniature art

museums, cake shops and information centres. One payphone in Devon was even turned into the “world’s smallest nightclub.”

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. With more than 5,800 payphones now adopted across the UK, this is a fantastic opportunity for communities to own a piece of history.

“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.”

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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.

Most people now have a mobile phone and calls made from our public telephones have fallen by around 90 per cent in the past decade. BT is also replacing more than 1,000 payphones in major cities across the UK, with new digital hubs called InLinks as part of a joint venture with InLinkUK. Each InLink provides ultrafast, free public Wi-Fi, phone calls, device charging and a tablet for access to city services, maps and directions.

For further details on how to apply to Adopt a Kiosk, simply go to www.bt.com/adopt where application forms and information can be found.