Anger over the removal of two Ross-on-Wye payphones

Councillors at Ross-on-Wye Town Council have expressed their anger over the proposed removal of two payphones in Ross-on-Wye.

Councillors agreed at the Management Meeting on Monday 11^th March that the removal of these two payphones, at River View and Three Crosses, would result in a serious shortfall of payphones in Ross-on-Wye and shows a lack of consideration for those with no access to a mobile phone. This therefore poses a significant risk to the welfare and safeguarding of young and vulnerable people, especially with the close proximity of the local High School.

The Town Council has sent a strong objection letter to BT regarding the proposed removal and has requested that the decision be reviewed. Usage data supplied by BT showed that the River View payphone had been used for 50 calls which included 5 helpline calls and the Three Crosses phone used for 23 calls with 2 helpline calls during a period of 12 months covering 22/23. The Council feels this is proof that there is a need for the provision of this service.

Councillors are asking residents to send in their objections to the proposed removal of the two payphones to BT by emailing btp.authorisation.team@bt.com and quoting the call box ID numbers: 01989564698 for River View and 01989763153 for Three Crosses.

Pictured: Town and County Councillors Chris Bartrum, Ed O’Driscoll and Louis Stark