Keep In Touch

Bumping into David Munro (our County Councillor) this morning was opportune. He mentioned he was off out delivering our latest 'In Touch', and I decided to check the contact information on it. I was hoping to find that my blog had been listed.

Unfortunately it hadn't - an oversight on my part. However, more of a mistake (my mistake agin) was that I hadn't ensured the contact information had been updated. Both the email address and phone number shown are incorrect. The right ones to use are below:

Mike.Causey@waverley.gov.uk
07894 108040

Only 60,000 left in the UK

A small follow-up today to my Friday post about a possible endangered species - the red phone box. I added a PS to my feedback to the executive committee - a mention that I found it impossible to discover a list of BT payphones (all 60,000 of them) that one could use as an aid to planning a journey without a mobile phone.

Well, a colleague at the council emailed today to inform me that on speaking to BT, they say that they

"don't have a list ... in the public domain but ... shall make the point about provision of that in future."

Apparently there are lists that can be bought and downloaded on the web, from private companies that have compiled them, but to be honest, it bothers me that it's not free to do so. I'm really not sure how BT are keeping to their service obligations without such a search being possible. And free.

Endangered Species Alert

The deadline for the consultation on BT's proposals to remove a number payphones from Waverley is on the 2nd July, but in order for all of us at the council to collaborate and to send a combined response, we've been asked to send in our submissions by today.

As well as responding individually, you can also sign a couple of petitions. Firstly, at Rowledge Post Offie and Village Shop, where Cliff Putnam the postmaster has a petition (also see page 3 of this week's Farnham Herald). And secondly on our MP's website.

You can find full details for the consultion on the Waverley website, including the letter from BT, the full list of the phone boxes earmarked for removal (includes 33 red boxes), and information on how to contact BT by email, letter or phone.

Please write or phone if you have the time. Small changes like these can creep up on us as a community, and suddenly we realise our villages have changed irreparably, and the icons of our history have gone.

--
I'd like to record my objections to the removal of the red boxes of Applelands Close, Wrecclesham, and The Square, Rowledge.

* Being under the consultation, it's clear that these boxes are further than 400 m from another payphone, and for those wishing to reach one, especially if infirm in anyway, this is a long way.

* Whilst landlines are ubiquitous, mobile phones as at 2005/6 were owned by 79% of the population, and although this may well have climbed in the past couple of years, based on the slow down of the increase it might only now be around 81% - certainly not full coverage. (Source: Family Expenditure Survey and Expenditure and Food Survey, Office for National Statistics)

Payphones provide for (a) those who have no landline or one that is not working, and (b) especially for those on the move who have no mobile phone. Red boxes are particularly noticeable to those driving and in need of a phone, and to have two such phones in such a small geograhical area removed, would be, in my view, against BT's Universal Service Obligation.

In addition, I feel we should point out that the red box at Applelands Close is in a shameful condition, both inside and out, and I believe that BT's obligations should certainly include maintaining their payphones to a standard that encourages use, rather than discourages.

Regards,
MikeC

P.S. As an additional note, I tried hard to find an easy search engine for the location of BT Payphones... and failed miserably. Do you know if one exists? If not, then again, BT are not providing a service that enables someone with no mobile phone, an easy means by which to plan their journey and access to a phone if required.

How many councillors does it take to use a phone box?

One - just. According to councillor for Shortheath and Boundstone, John Ward. Here's what he emailed me this week about the red phone box in Boundstone that's under threat of removal by BT:

There is a big intimidatory sign on the door saying NO COINS and when one gets inside there is the notice saying that it is to be removed (after 42days "consultation"). Actually using it is more difficult.

There are reasonably obvious instructions. Firstly one is told to swipe ones credit card in the card swiper - after careful search I found that there isn't one. Then I discovered in small print very low down (so that I had to bend double) "what to do if there is no card reader".

This involved dialling an 0800 number which one had to bob up and down like a demented partridge to read the number and then key it in. One extra small problem - after dialling 0800 the line goes dead!!

There are also instructions in small print about using a BT card which I doubt many people have.

I lost patience and anyone at all infirm or with poor eyesight would never be able to make a call anyway. One might wonder of this is an "accidental" ploy by BT to reduce the takings!!

Geeks in Godalming

There'll be more of them in the High Street from today, as the Wireless Godalming project goes live. I believe that it will be the first time in the UK that a town has had free wireless internet available across its centre. Councillor Adam Taylor-Smith, portfolio holder for Communications, along with the IT dept of the council, have been hard at work to get this ready, and as you all probably expect, I'll be there with my Apple laptop as soon as I can get there!

See the Waverley website for a bit more info.