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The phone box on Woodford Road, Poynton
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Is this the loneliest phone box in Britain?
Pete Bainbridge16/ 7/2008
TALK about a dead ringer ... It could be the end of the line for Macclesfield’s loneliest phone box after only ONE call was made from it in a year.
The Woodford Road kiosk, in Poynton, is set for demolition after receiving its single solitary visitor – reflecting a national decline in public telephone use.
Phone company BT has a hang up about losing cash on their disused boxes, and are ringing in the changes.
So, Poynton’s box may be lonely, but it is sadly not alone.
"The Ring" from the Woodford Road box is a sign of the times, as many free standing kiosks have been pushed out by mobile phones and the internet.
In Poynton alone, the bell tolls for six booths, earmarked for removal after BT’s latest consultation with Macclesfield Borough Council.
And almost 60 per cent of phone boxes throughout the country are unprofitable, a BT spokeswoman said.
In Poynton, an axe hovers over two boxes on Dickens Lane, and one on Anson Road, London Road South, Middlewood Road and Woodford Road, which will all be demolished unless the council urges BT to keep them.
Poynton Parish Council has written to MBC, urging them to keep the Dickens Lane and Anson Road kiosks, which are used significantly more than the other four.
A spokeswoman for BT said: "We are committed to providing a public payphone service, however over the years usage has declined. BT has therefore been constantly reviewing and, where necessary, rationalising its public payphone estate in order to meet demand.
"Almost 60pc of our payphones are unprofitable, with almost 6,000 phones making less than one call a month. Payphone usage has halved in the last two years and calls are still declining at 20pc year on year.
"Any removal of unprofitable payphones is carried out in strict adherence to Ofcom guidelines and, where appropriate, with the consent of the local communities."
The following calls were made from Poynton’s phone boxes, which all are set to be removed:
- Dickens Lane – 944 calls
- Anson Road box – 557 calls
- London Road South box – 189 calls
- Second Dickens Lane box – 133 calls
- Middlewood Road box – 113
- And Woodford Road....ONE!
Other borough phone boxes under threat:
- Congleton Road, Gawsworth.
- Congleton Road, North Rode.
- Wildboarclough.
- Meg Lane, Sutton.
- Knutsford Road, Alderley Edge.
- Saltersford, Rainow.
- Ovenhouse Lane, Bollington.
- Henshall Road, Bollington.
- Alderley Road, Mottram St Andrew.
- Congleton Road, Nether Alderley.
- London Road, Adlington.
- Dane Hill Close, Disley.
Did you make that one call from the Woodford Road box in Poynton? If you did, contact Pete Bainbridge at the Macclesfield Express on 01625 424445.
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17/07/2008 at 04:22