“Dirty” and “grubby” telephone boxes are a blight on a city centre, say local residents, who are calling for upgraded, digital communication kiosks to replace them.
Critics of the phone boxes in Newport city centre say they want to see the vanadalised and unkempt booths swapped for BT Street Hubs, which offer free, ultra-fast Wi-Fi, UK phone calls and phone charging points.
Michael Enea, a political blogger and local campaigner for the Conservative party, said one phone box in Newport was “covered in dirt, muck and moss”, describing it as “absolutely apalling”.
BT, which is responsible for the upkeep of its telephone boxes, said an engineer is being deployed to clean and repair the booth.
Michael EneaNewport City Council, which maintains public spaces in the city centre, said it had “no powers” to remove the phone boxes, adding it had previously complained to BT.
BT Hubs, which feature 75-inch display screens, are currently installed in high footfall areas in Cardiff, Swansea and some parts of Newport.
Mr Enea said he wanted to see the BT Street Hubs place installed as part of a wider refurbishment of the city centre.
“This is what visitors see when they come to Newport city centre. We need radical improvements,” he said.
“When you go in there every day you become accustomed to what it looks like, but when you’re a visitor, and it’s all new to you, you notice things which are dirty, grubby and grimy.
“We’ve got to really freshen up the city centre.”
Jewellery shop owner Susan Priest said “no one uses” the booth on the junction of Llanarth Street, where her business is, and John Frost Square.
“It’s terrible – and it needs replacing,” she said.
“I saw it the other day and thought it looked like a right state.
“It’s like a sore thumb.”
Michael EneaA Newport City Council spokesperson said: “Phone boxes and street hubs are the responsibility of BT to maintain and look after.
“The council has no powers to remove phone boxes, and is not responsible for their maintenance.
“We have previously written to BT to complain about the lack of maintenance of phone boxes within the city, but ultimately carrying out that maintenance is for them to do.”
A BT spokesperson said their payphones are “often the targets of anti-social behaviour and vandalism”, and urged anyone to report damaged, dirty or faulty payphones to them.
The spokesperson said they would be sending an engineer “to inspect the kiosk and carry out any necessary repairs and cleaning”, adding they had a team of dedicated engineers for phone-box maintenance.
“Phone boxes are cleaned every time they’re visited by one of our engineers.”