Town Centre phone box to go!

Welshpool’s final town centre phone box is set to go, and will be replaced by a state-of-the-art ‘BT Global Street Hub’ that provides a wi-fi hot spot and even collates pedestrian and traffic flow data.

The phone box has been a mainstay on Broad Street for decades, but in a panning application shared with Welshpool Town Council this week, it was confirmed that Libre Solutions wants to replace it with a hub that will also carry advertising on both sides.

“The Street Hub network represents a significant step forward in delivering digitally connected infrastructure to local communities,” the company stated in their letter to the Town Council.

The letter states that the next generation BT Street Hub (pictured) features enhanced capabilities including: Improved wi-fi coverage; Integrated environmental sensors; Pedestrian and traffic flow monitoring; 5G small cell integration; and real-time urban data insights.

It says they can also monitor air quality and sound and lighting levels.

Councillors discussed the application and decided it would neither support, nor oppose it, with a number of observations, including access to the data collated and opportunity for the Town Council to use the advertising space, to be submitted in response.