Greenwich’s red phone boxes bought by council: Future options considered
Greenwich Council are looking at future uses for a number of iconic red telephone boxes across Greenwich town centre.
In recent years many have fallen into disrepair though some locals from the Escalate Now group have recently cleaned some up themselves.
Back in 2017 this site covered plans for one of the boxes to serve coffee and ice cream. Unfortunately it didn’t last though how long it remained I cannot recall.
Next week a Greenwich Council report on ‘Helping our town centres to thrive’ covers the issue before the Inclusive Economy and Culture Scrutiny Panel. The report notes:
“A programme of work has been undertaken following the Council’s acquisition of the heritage telephone boxes located within Greenwich Town Centre.
“A cross-functional officer task force has been established to review future options for these assets, including opportunities for repurposing, relocation or removal where appropriate.
“The objective is to preserve the heritage value of the kiosks whilst ensuring they continue to contribute positively to the public realm and meet the needs of the town centre environment.”
Future
Removal would gain some fair amount of opposition I’d wager. They’re a key part of the area’s history and something tourists – of which Greenwich has plenty – enjoy seeing.
That appears unlikely, though moving some could happen with any town centre remodelling project.
Phone boxes are located in a number of spots across west Greenwich, with some near the Mitre pub and others nearby closer to St Alfege church. Others are situated on King William Walk.
Another is near Greenwich station and Davy’s.
This is a K2 model unlike K6’s seen elsewhere. K2’s are earlier and rarer. Another exists in east Greenwich outside the former library.
Last but not least is one near the Cutty Sark where yet another public realm upgrade is underway, which is covered in the report and worthy of a separate post.
The sheer number of times money is spent in that area is something else, and then it often isn’t looked after all too well in a sorry story surpassed only by Woolwich town centre’s revolving upgrades.
One example in Greenwich around the Cutty Sark is the foot tunnel structure, which looks tremendous with new lighting. However when I covered that and looked at the planning application it stated every single light bulb from a prior upgrade (when lifts were replaced) had failed and not been replaced.
Hopefully the new lighting fare better, and the red phone boxes too see improvements and that then persists.
Many red kiosks were listed ….. so any change woukd require planning consent …..
https://thamesfacingeast.wordpress.com/2013/08/11/k2s-in-royal-borough-of-greenwich/
And the state of these nationwide reflects BT’s abandonment of a whole swathe ofvtheir responsibilities over the last 20-30 years.
Yeah but wot appened to all them mercury ones. Remember them alcyon days.
No mention of sorting out the ongoing / permanent Thames tunnel lift issues in the report? One gets the sense Greenwich Council would prefer to pretend they don’t exist… the issues or the lifts!
The Council made a bid , in August , to the Department for Transport for funds to renew the lifts in both Greenwich and Woolwich Foot Tunnels and other associated works . You can find it on the Council website.
Assume this was on behalf of both Tower Hamlets and Newham councils.
Would be far better if both foot tunnels were under the control of one authority – TfL.
Six of the boxes mentioned – three by The Mitre , one on Greenwich Church St , one in King William Walk and the one in Cutty Sark Gardens were previously in the ownership of two companies – both now dissolved – that tried to run hot drinks businesses out of them . Those businesses failed some time ago and the boxes were left to rot by their owners. After much lobbying of council officers, over a period of many months from last autumn to spring, the boxes were finally taken into council ownership .During this time a group of locals connected with the local transport pressure group – Escalate-now.com – started cleaning up the boxes . They produced a quote to replace the glass and other materials . Then , in August , council officers said the Council would take over the renovation so the volunteers ceased work.
We now await, with interest, the council’s practical plans for restoration and trust they have a speedy timetable.
The box opposite Gail’s is an eyesore
That is in King William Walk , one of the six identified for a clean up, and now in the ownership of the Council.
Perhaps the boxes could be turned into urinals. Oh wait, that is their current use. Honestly, I don’t know what Greenwich council thinks it can do with these redundant boxes. Any refurbishment and exterior use cannot be left to the mercy those who like to smash things up just ‘for a laugh.’
Well maybe the cleaned up boxes could be” rehomed ” in any one of our World Heritage Site buildings ?
Would free up space on crowded pavements in the town centre .
There is the University , the Old Royal Naval College and the National Maritime Museum as well as the Tourist Information Centre . Appreciate this would be a huge job to move one, or more, of them but they would be protected from vandalism which remains a threat if the boxes are cleaned up but left in situ. If they are left in situ post the clean up, then a regular cleaning regime must be put in place by council officers. Maybe the volunteers will keep cleaning them. Would also be helpful if council CCTV was focussed on the boxes to catch any vandals.