BT bid to close half dozen phone boxes across Clydebank to be decided by council

BRITISH Telecom want to close a quarter of the public phone kiosks across West Dunbartonshire.

Six of the 14 earmarked for removal have had no calls made from them in the past 12 months while five more have had only 48 between them.

The phone box at Rowan Drive / Poplar Drive, Parkhall, was added to the closure list after complaints from locals who claimed it attracted vandals. Only three calls were made from it in the past year.

Kiosks at Dumbarton Road/Duntiglennan Road, Duntocher, and Brucehill Road, Brucehill, Dumbarton, have been reprieved.

They had some of the highest call numbers in the area.

In total, BT have applied to remove 14 phone boxes which would leave 57 across West Dunbartonshire.

Only one of those being removed at Thomas Street in Alexandria is a traditional red box.

BT can remove individual boxes without notifying councils but is obliged to consult with local officials when that number is higher.

The telecom giant has sent a full list of boxes it wishes to close to West Dunbartonshire Council, which is expected to make a response by early December.

If there are no objections, it is thought the boxes could start to be removed early in the new year.

Under its own guidelines, BT must retain boxes, despite low use, if they are located near accident black spots, coastlines or areas such as cliffs or bridges where there is a high incidence of suicide.

A number of red boxes have been converted into libraries or community information centres but increased insurance costs have seen these uses decline in recent years.

Closures in West Dunbartonshire will take place in the following location with boxes with no calls made in the past 12 months: Ladyton Estate, Alexandria, Redburn/Pappert in Bonhill, Cook Road/Brown Street, Haldane, Dumbarton Road/Whyte Road in Milton, Faifley Road/Langfaulds Crescent Faifley and Maple Drive/Birch Road in Clydebank.

Other closures include: Rowan Drive/Poplar Drive Clydebank (three calls); Dickens Avenue/Radnor Park Clydebank (four calls); Thomas Street in Alexandria (11 calls); Craig Avenue, Tullichewan (15 calls); Valeview Terrace, Bellysmyre (15); Whitford Avenue, Dumbarton (93 calls); North Main Street/Argyll Street in Alexandria (137 calls); and Colquhoun Drive/Halkett Crescent in Alexandria (551 calls).