Listing red phone boxes

This article originally appeared as ‘Telephone Kiosks’ in IHBC’s (Institute of Historic Building Conservation) Context Newsletter 19, published in Summer 1988. It was written by John Preston.

The "phoney war" mentioned in my article in Context 17 is now over, as planning authorities receive decisions on their listing requests. The protests so far have had some limited effect, in an increase of the quota announced on 18 January by Lord Caithness, Heritage Minister:

"In June 1987 we announced that 500 red telephone boxes would be listed. Now we have decided to double that figure by listing 1000 of our popular red telephone kiosks in heritage and conservation areas ... It has become clear to us and English Heritage, our professional advisers, that more than 500 valuable telephone boxes should be saved. I hope that by listing 1000 telephone boxes the best examples will be preserved for many years to come. I should like to thank English Heritage and British Telecom for their help in this listing programme."

Readers will be able to judge what "help" British Telecom have given from my previous article; note also the Minister's failure to mention the planning authorities, who have had to carry out all the survey work which, according to the original DOE 1985 Press Release, was to have been done by British Telecom!

Nearly 800 K6 kiosks have now been listed across the country. The real effects of the listing process can be judged by events in Cambridgeshire where in 4 of the districts a total of 18 kiosks have been listed out of 73 requested. Informal indications suggest that a further 9 kiosks out of 70 requested may be listed in the remaining 2 districts. When 27 kiosks are listed, out of 127 requested, (all of which appear to comply with the Secretary of State's criteria of unaltered kiosks in good condition in conservation areas or adjacent to listed buildings) how have the DOE, or rather their English Heritage advisers who have been lumbered with this invidious task, been able to judge which kiosks should be listed and which should not? To take Fenland district, where no kiosks have been accepted for listing, surely the K6 outside the Grade 1 Parson Drove Church and the two abutting the Grade II Chatteris post office within the Conservation area were listable.

The key issue is the unprecedented introduction of a quota agreed with the owner, for reasons unconnected with the statutory basis of and criteria for listing. The initial 1% quota was reached apparently without any assessment of the number of kiosks of heritage importance, prior to any comprehensive survey, and without any prior consultation with local planning authorities who would have been able to provide relevant information. The agreement did not even appear to take into account such centrally available data as the number of Conservation Areas (5300+) and the number of those in which English Heritage operate grant schemes (700+). The increased quota of 1000 remains unrelated to any heritage-based assessment of the matter.

There appears to be a strong case here for seeking Judicial Review, on the grounds that the Secretary of State has misused his powers by reaching agreements with the owner concerned which limit his decisions on listing, for reasons other than the proper basis, being the merits of the individual kiosks in relation to the stated criteria.

The scope for any such action depends on the availability of resources. Many Conservation Officers may feel that they have already spent more time on this subject than it is worth, but the public reaction against the new kiosks remains strong — particularly when they are installed and fail to match up to BT's claims for their advantages.

In many cases, BT’s actions are devaluing the efforts of others to respect the character of the local environment.

Some parish councils in Cambridgeshire are trying to reach agreements with BT, offering local maintenance provided that the red kiosks are retained. BT seem much more receptive to such ideas than they were previously, and it is worth pursuing this option with the local manager.

BT, meanwhile, continue to find a ready market for the kiosks they remove. They have not, to my knowledge, yet confirmed that they will hold sufficient salvaged K6's in reserve to replace listed ones which may be damaged in the future.

English Heritage, charged with a duty "to promote the preservation and enhancement of Conservation Areas" have failed to achieve more than a token success with regard to telephone kiosks. They, like the planning authorities, have had their hands tied by DOE and British Telecom.

--Institute of Historic Building Conservation