Tresham Village

The situation with regard to our phone box is still not resolved, and is a subject of much confusion. Please see the following for a summary of what has happened so far, and the current plan of action. If you have any comments or suggestions, please post them below, or talk to one of us (Ali or Claire), or come along to the next Council Meeting, which will follow the Annual Parish Meeting on Wednesday 8th April.

• BT contacted SD Council in mid 2008 advising that 51 boxes were to be removed under the Payphone Removal Programme, and that it was SDC obligation to consult the community
• I contacted all affected Parishes and advised and asked for objections to be submitted for the Payphone Removal Programme
• This consultation occurred twice, and SDC submitted an objection to all 51 payphones being removed as part of the Payphone Removal Programme
• BT has never, despite significant efforts, responded to this submission to advise if any are to be removed
• BT proposed that an Kiosk Adopt  and Kiosk Sponsorship Programmes be introduced.
• Information was sent to all affected Parishes to determine if anyone wanted to Adopt or Sponsor their Kiosk.
• It was the responsibility of the Parishes to inform themselves of the Adopt programme.
• Parishes were required to access the BT web site and register
• Hillesley & Tresham PC were one of 10 who replied indicating that they were interested in the Adopt programme. 
• Inclusion on the Adopt Programme means the removal of the phone facility, and the retention of the kiosk, with the PC taking on the electricity cost (est £20 pa) and the insurance.
• On 18th December BT advised SDC of the Parishes who wished to Adopt the Kiosk.
• I recirculated my concerns and emerging information from BT to all of the Parishes interested in the Adopt Programme.
• SDC was required to accept or object to the Adopt Kiosk Programme- and I had advised the Parishes that if they wanted to change their initial intention to Adopt the Kiosk (process commenced by filling the the BT web form) then they should make contact and I could stop the process on their behalf.
• Two Parishes (Chalford and Elmore) decided that they wanted to pull out of the Adopt Programme. As such when I submitted the information to BT at the end of January 2009 as required, I objected to the Adopt programme continuing in Chalford and Elmore but not the others. 
• The remainder (as they had decided to proceed, or elected to not respond for my further request for information), had their Adopt request continued to the next stage.

The "next stage" was the receipt of an email from BT (to the Parish Council) asking us to sign the adoption agreement, and complete other pre-requisites for adoption. In effect, BT were asking us to proceed with the adoption without having confirmed that the kiosk would otherwise be removed.

We responded with an email saying that we were unwilling to enter into an adoption agreement until the situation was clarified.

BT avoided the main issue and replied as follows:

"We see the Adopt a Kiosk programme as a beneficial arrangement for communities whereby they can retain kiosks where there is no proven social need for the telephone service from the kiosk itself. In the case of this particular kiosk I would suggest that this is the best solution."

The following proposal will be put forward to the Council at the Council meeting on 8th April (after the Annual Parish Meeting):

That we do not proceed with the adoption at present (we are rather concerned that we might be letting ourselves in for more work than we think)

That we write to Stroud District Council, copying BT, a letter to the effect that:

The phone box is an integral part of a historic village, in an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty, and situated close to listed buildings. It is a George V K6 box, situated next to a Victorian wall letterbox, both of which types have been eligible for listing in the past. We do not feel it should be necessary for the village to adopt the phone box, but think that these factors provide a strong case for the phone box and letter box to be listed as a group, and believe that Stroud District Council should be able to apply for listing.