A PROPOSAL to axe public phone boxes in two Okehampton streets was greeted with dismay by town councillors at their meeting last week.
BT has written to the council informing it of the intention of removing the phone boxes in Crediton Road and Simmons Way.
The company is currently undertaking a review of phone boxes throughout the country, following a drop of almost 50% in calls made from public telephones nationally in the last three years.
Cllr David Weekes, speaking at the town?s policy committee, said: ?If they go ahead with this we are going to get a lot of stick from residents.
?I think it?s disgusting. A lot of people haven?t got mobiles ? I would hate to see the one go from Simmons Way, there?s a lot of older people living up there.?
Cllr Frances Luxton said it was ?sad? that BT was cutting back on public phones and felt once they had been installed, running costs would be relatively low.
Cllr Christine Marsh said: ?More and more people have mobile phones now, so the public ones aren?t used so much ? they?re just not cost-effective.?
Cllr Charles Letchford said: ?If they are not making a profit, the only case we can make is a social one, asking them to operate these phones at a loss.?
He suggested the council write to BT, expressing its ?dismay and concern? at the proposal to axe two of the town?s public phone boxes, in an attempt to appeal to the communication giant?s ?better nature?.
Rick Thompson, project liaison officer for BT, said the company was currently consulting with parishes throughout the country about public telephone provision and said getting the balance right between commercial pressures and providing a service was vital.
He said: ?We recognise there may be concerns about our plans, but through consultation with a range of local representatives, we aim to manage the changes sensitively and professionally.
?As part of our commitment to continued provision of payphone service, we have identified three loss-making payphones in Okehampton that we guarantee not to remove as part of any proposed rationalisation.?
Mr Thompson said the declined usage of public phones meant overall provision in Okehampton exceeded need ? hence the proposal to remove the phones in Crediton Road and Simmons Way.
BT is due to make a final decision after the end of the consultation period on May 25. Notices have been placed in telephone boxes under review ? any member of the public who wishes to make their views known on the proposal can do so via the town council or West Devon Borough Council?s planning department.