THIS REPORT RELATES COUNCIL TO ITEM 8 ON THE AGENDA

EXECUTIVE ENVIRONMENT SERVICES

13 MAY 2008 NOT EXEMPT

PROPOSED REMOVAL OF BT CALL BOXES

1 SUMMARY

1.1 BT wish to remove a number of public call boxes (PCBs) from the Stirling Council area. Because of its Universal Service Obligation, BT must consult the Council before it can remove the 11 of these PCBs which sit further than 400 metres from another call box (PCBs closer than 400 metres can be removed by BT without the need for consultation).

1.2 As the role of the Council in this matter is to act on behalf of the general public, a consultation process has been undertaken which has resulted in seven objections. The Council now has to choose whether it wishes to object to any of these 11 proposed removals and must put its decision in writing to both BT and the Secretary of State.

1.3 If the Council chooses to object, representations to the Competition Appeal Tribunal will be necessary in the event of an appeal. This will have human resources and/or legal costs implications.

2 RECOMMENDATION(S)

2.1 The Executive is asked to instruct Officers to issue a draft decision notice to BT outlining the Council’s intention to object to the proposed removal of all 11 PCBs.

3 CONSIDERATIONS

Proposal

3.1 As a Universal Service Provider BT is obliged to ensure the adequate provision of PCBs to meet the reasonable needs of end-users in terms of numbers, geographical coverage and quality of services. BT’s own survey however has shown that the following 11 PCBs are not being used sufficiently to continue the service and is proposing to remove them:

• Cotton Street, , G63 OPE – WARD 2

• , G63 0HD – WARD 2

• Dumbrock Road, , G63 9EG – WARD 2

• , G63 0AR – WARD 2

• Morrison Drive, , FK7 0HZ – WARD 6

• Milton Brae, Stirling, FK7 0JT – WARD 6

• Main Street , , FK15 0NQ – WARD 3

• The Square, Ashfield, Dunblane, FK15 0JN – WARD 3

• Balkerach St, , FK16 6DF – WARD 1

• , FK8 3TU – WARD 1

• Kinlochard, FK8 3TL – WARD 1

Objection

3.2 The Council must now decide whether it wishes to object to any of the proposals. This ‘draft decision’ must be put in writing to both BT and the Secretary of State and, in accordance with Ofcom guidance, must be made objectively, be non-discriminate, be proportionate to what it is intended to achieve, and be transparent. BT will then be required to reply to the Council within 30 days after which the Council must make its ‘final decision’. An overall 90 day deadline for the Council to make this final decision has been set by BT as 02/07/08. A final decision therefore will require to be made by the Council in June.

3.3 In considering whether to consent or object, the Council must act in accordance with the six Community requirements set out in section 4 of the Communications Act 2003 (paragraph 7.3 of the Ofcom Guidance). Ofcom guidance also lists a number of relevant factors that the Council may wish to refer to in considering whether to object. These include: the predominant housing type for the area (e.g. owner occupied/ privately rented/ Council housing etc); the number of households within the 400m catchment area of the PCB; PCB revenue to date; the likelihood that the PCB is required for emergency calls; and mobile phone coverage in the area.

Appeal

3.4 Should the Council choose to object to any of the proposed removals, and BT do not amend their plans, the matter will go to the Competition Appeal Tribunal.

4 POLICY/RESOURCE IMPLICATIONS AND CONSULTATIONS

Policy Implications Diversity (age, disability, gender, race, religion, sexual orientation) No Sustainability (community, economic, environmental) No Corporate/Service Plan No Existing Policy or Strategy No Risk No Resource Implications Financial Yes People Yes Land and Property or IT Systems No Consultations Internal or External Consultations Yes

Resource Implications

4.1 Representations to the Competition Appeal Tribunal may be necessary if the Council wishes to object to any of these proposals and the objections are not resolved.

Consultations

4.2 As part of the Council’s consultation, the BT proposals were listed on Stirling Council’s Planning Schedule of 09/04/08. BT also intend to issue public display notices within the affected PCBs informing local communities of the proposals and how they may object to them. The proposals and the consultation process were also reported in the Stirling Observer.

4.3 Seven letters of objection have so far been received by the Council raising the following points:

a) Many of the PCBs are in isolated rural areas and provide an essential public service.

b) The PCB located at Balkerach St, Doune is valuable for tourists who may not have alternative access to a phone and may need a PCB to make transport or travel arrangements.

c) Rowardennan, Inversnaid and Kinlochard villages do not receive mobile phone signals and these PCBs may therefore be necessary for emergency calls. These villages form part of the West Highland Way and the area is popular with tourists

d) There is a large hotel and time share complex near Kinlochard with only one public phone service which is currently inaccessible due to refurbishment. As a consequence the PCB is used often. There is also a telephone exchange in the village so there are often BT staff in the village so emptying the PCB of cash should not create a special journey. The PCB is also a landmark as it is one of the traditional red PCBs which is sited on a significant corner making it a key point for directions. e) Ashfield is a Conservation Area and its traditional red telephone box contributes to the character of the area. Households in the village have had problems in recent years with high winds disrupting phone lines and as such some residents have had to rely upon the village PCB. The area suffers variable mobile phone coverage.

f) Phone lines in rural areas are prone to failure/ storm damage and in such circumstances PCBs become extremely important to rural communities.

4.4 Internal consultations with Housing, Transport and Community Services were undertaken and produced the following comments:

a) Housing: Due to a particular proposed development at Milton Brae it may be desirable for that PCB to remain in situation. The Council should therefore object to this particular proposal.

b) Community Services: Croftamie get through traffic for the National Park and have a high older population who may not have access to alternative communications. The landscape of Balfron can be challenging for older people and the siting of the box is convenient. The village has a high older population who may not have access to alternative communications.

5 BACKGROUND PAPERS

5.1 Stirling Council Planning Schedule of 9th April, 2008

5.2 Ofcom Guidance on Procedures for the Removal of Public Call Boxes, 14 March 2006, available at: http://www.ofcom.org.uk/consult/condocs/uso/uso_statement/removals.pdf

Author(s)

Name Designation Tel No/Extension

Paul Duncan Student Planning Officer 01786 442769

Approved by Name Designation Signature

Brian Devlin Director of Environment Services

Date 2 May 2008 Reference REP884ExC(PD)