PLANS to establish a network of new, cutting edge BT “Street Hubs” across Warrington look to have hit a snag.
The borough council’s development management committee has refused planning consent for four of the hi-tech hubs in Bridge Street, Wilson Patten Street, Knutsford Road, Latchford and at the junction of Mersey Street and Napier Street.
In November, BT revealed it wanted to install 13 of the hubs in Warrington, replacing existing payphones.
Street Hubs replace payphones and more than 400 have already been installed in towns and cities across the country. They offer free phone calls to anywhere in the UK – including to mobiles.
They have a dedicated 999 call button and automatically share location.
They do no have a handset – calls use a tablet and microphone and caller privacy is offered by a headphone jack. There is also a directional speaker and noise-cancelling microphone offering call clarity and quality.
BT says Street Hubs bring councils, communities and citizens wide-scale digital connectivity at no cost – entirely run and installed by BT.
Full-fibre internet allows “lightning-fast” Wi-Fi connectivity – allowing speeds up to 13.9 times faster than standard, fixed-line home broadband.
Content filtering prevents access to adult-only websites.
The service is funded by commercial advertising on two screens on either side of the hub – which will also display local information. But the hub occupies less space than existing payphones.
But councillors heard the proposals were opposed by Cheshire Police on the grounds of potential to cause increased anti-social behaviour – in a town centre which already suffered from high levels of anti-social behaviour.
A number of other reasons to refuse planning consent on visual amenity grounds were raised by officers, who recommended the four hubs be refused planning consent.
