Following last year’s tussle with BT to prevent them from taking away our beloved, historic phone box in Luccombe, we were dismayed to discover another sign in the box last week stating that it may be removed (see below).

Aside from being a historic landmark in the village, the phone is essential as we do not have any mobile reception here (and it looks like we won’t be getting any, anytime soon). Many residents do not have landlines because they have Airband broadband, meaning that if one needed to make an emergency phone call for a fire or medical situation, the phone box is their only way of calling 999.

Below is the email that Henry, the chairman of the Parish Council has sent to the relevant authorities including SWaT Council, BT and Exmoor NPA. If you would like to voice your objection to the removal of the box (again) you can do so by emailing the Somerset West and Taunton Council planning department at planning@somersetwestandtaunton.gov.uk. Refer to the phone box in Luccombe at post code TA24 8TE.

 

Dear Sir or Madam,

British Telecom have posted a notice in the telephone kiosk in the village of Luccombe advising of their intention to remove the telephone kiosk and the termination of the telephone service. This email expresses the objection to their intention by Luccombe Parish Council and the residents of the village.

As suggested by the notice I called BT to ask for details of how to object. They gave me the name of Somerset West and Taunton Council and said I should object to the planning department but furnished no further information. I spoke to Jane on the telephone at Somerset West and Taunton Council who, obligingly, attempted to find the planning application for the removal of the facility. She could find none and advised I email the planning department. It would therefore appear that BT has expressed an intention to remove the telephone box without submitting planning permission to which those opposed to the removal can object! I can find no planning application on the Exmoor National Park website. The phone box is not only in the National Park, it is in a conservation area and it was subject to an application for listing as an historic building. I am hoping that Exmoor National Park and the National Trust that owns the land on which the kiosk stands will also object to its removal.

This email has to rely on the Somerset West and Taunton Council to do the right thing, given that BT is not playing by the rules, and accept this email as an objection on the part of Luccombe Parish Council and the people of Luccombe to a non-existent planning application. Given that BT has reneged on the previous promise to preserve the phone box we are taking the threat as real, despite the absence of a planning application.

There is an email below addressed to the Chief Executive of BT. You will see that last year BT agreed not to remove the box because there is no mobile phone signal in Luccombe and because the phone box could be the only connection to the outside world and the emergency services in the event of an emergency. It is worth noting that we recently had such an emergency with an injury and fire that could have spread to the moor and the injured man was unable to use a mobile phone and had to rely on others in the village to make the call to the fire brigade. In the event of a power cut the only facility would have been the public phone box.

I would be grateful for an acknowledgement of this objection and advice if further steps are required to halt the removal. People of Luccombe wish to object and can only do so by writing to this email address. They cannot object on the planning application as it does not exist.

Email to BT

Dear Mr. Jansen,

About a year ago I wrote to you to oppose BT’s plans to remove the telephone kiosk from our village, Luccombe in Somerset.

Despite assurances that the order to remove the phone box and the telephone service had been rescinded  a notice has recently been posted in the phone box saying that the facility is to be removed.

Last year’s proposal to remove the kiosk was based on the lie that there is a mobile telephone service in Luccombe – there isn’t.

BT wittingly or unwittingly perpetuated the lie using OfCom data about mobile coverage provided to OfCom by deceitful mobile phone companies which claim more extensive coverage than they in fact deliver. Mobile phone company maps show a mobile signal in Luccombe. Anyone on any of the networks will show you there is no mobile signal anywhere in the village and especially not in the centre of the village by the telephone box.

Last year the parish council raised its objection with the BT department responsible for removing phone boxes. This department said we needed to object through the “local authority” seemingly unaware that a parish council is a democratically elected local authority. However, we raised the issue with Exmoor National Park, who has sought a listing for the kiosk as it lies in the National Park and a conservation area and is surrounded by other listed buildings in this historic village. We also raised it with Amy Tregellas, Governance Manager and Monitoring Officer, Somerset West and Taunton who failed to acknowledge our response.

We then received an email from Paul McDonald of BT telling us that the decision to remove the telephone kiosk had been rescinded because there is no mobile phone signal in the village. We replied to Mr. McDonald and also wrote to Amy Tregellas, Governance Manager and Monitoring Officer, Somerset West and Taunton seeking confirmation that we could trust the decision not to remove the phone kiosk was permanent. We received no reply.

As I have mentioned, BT have again posted a notice saying they intend to remove the phone box. It can only be assumed BT acted in bad faith when they promised to halt stop the removal last year.

Given that most domestic telephones today are digital, in the event of a power failure Luccombe would be cut off from the telephone system and the emergency services except via the availability of the BT telephone in the red kiosk. There is still no mobile signal in Luccombe. The situation is unchanged. Why then are BT again attempting to remove this vital connection having given the assurance it was safe? What does Luccombe have to do to prevent annual attempts to remove the telephone box?

Please consider this email as an objection, submitted within the 42-day notice period, to the removal of the telephone kiosk and telephone service in Luccombe.

I am copying this email to the relevant authorities – Exmoor National Park, West Somerset and Taunton Council, our district councillor as well as BT Payphones and the National Trust on whose land the kiosk stands – to ensure the widest communication of Luccombe’s desire to retain its red phone box.

Read more about the history of our iconic phone box and previous attempts to save it.

Update August 17th 2020: email governance@somersetwestandtaunton.gov.uk – see latest post

You can object to the removal of the box by emailing the Somerset West and Taunton Council planning department at planning@somersetwestandtaunton.gov.uk. Refer to the phone box in Luccombe at post code TA24 8TE.