News  »  Potential Removal of BT Telephone Coach Road, Sleights

Potential BT Payphone and Telephone Box Removal

North Yorkshire Council has received notification from British Telecom that it intends to remove 30 payphones from the Local Authority area, 6 of which are in the former Scarborough Borough Council area, one of which is in within the Eskdaleside-cum-Ugglebarnby Parish Council area. The payphone British Telecom are going to remove is in Sleights on Coach Lane outside the public car park  (telephone number 01947811088). The Local Authority and the community now have the opportunity to support or object to the removal.

To ensure that the local community are fully informed, on 24 August 2023, British Telecom placed a Payphone Removal Notice (90 Day Notice) in each of the 6 payphones within the former Scarborough Borough area. The 90 Day Notice advises of the intention by British Telecom to remove the payphone and for people to contact the Local Authority with any comments concerning the removal. We, North Yorkshire Council, are contacting you to make you aware of the potential removal of the payphone.

As British Telecom has already placed the 90 Day Notice, please can you send your comments on the potential removal of the payphone to North Yorkshire Council by Friday 20^th October 2023. Please reply by email to: localplan.sca@northyorks.gov.uk Or by post to: Planning Policy, North Yorkshire Council, Town Hall, St Nicholas Street, Scarborough, YO11 2HG

Consultation Stages

For your information, the stages for consultation on payphone removal and the timescales for comments have changed recently. We are currently in the 90 Day Notice period for a last public call box removal where none of the four BT decisions / actions apply.

BT cannot remove a last public call box if one or more these decisions / actions apply:

1. it does not have coverage from all 4 mobile network providers

2. it is sited in a high-frequency accident or suicide location

3. there have been 52 or more calls made from the call box in the past year

4. there is other evidence of reasonable user need for the public call box

North Yorkshire Council will consider the comments received by Friday 20^th October 2023 and will send them and its decision to BT by 22 November 2023. BT will make a decision whether to remove the payphone or to retain it taking into account the responses from the Council.