Campaign to save village's historic phone box

Campaigners are trying to protect the 100,000th telephone box to be installed in the country.

The Twentieth Century Society, which champions outstanding examples of modern design, has applied for listed status for the phone box at Dunsop Bridge in the Ribble Valley.

Unveiled by Sir Ranulph Fiennes and pupils from Thornleyholm RC Primary School in June 1992, it sits at the geographic centre of Great Britain.

Director, Catherine Croft said: "It's not the kind of heavy, chunky, red, solid phone box which is modelled a bit on classical architecture, but it's a design classic in its own right."

BT installed its 100,000th payphone at Dunsop Bridge in 1992 and included a plaque to explain its significance that reads: "You are calling from the BT payphone that marks the centre of Great Britain."

First introduced in 1985, the KX100 telephone kiosk design has large glass panels and was designed to be more visible, easier to clean and accessible.

But campaigners worry it could be removed as BT continues to review its payphones that are no longer being used, in line with rules set out by Ofcom.

"At the moment it works but we are aware that phone boxes have got a limited life in terms of places where you actually make phone calls," Ms Croft said.

"As a listed building, you'd need specialist building consent to remove it and that would only be allowed to happen if it could be shown that there was absolutely no way of keeping it," she said. "But I hope it will just make people look twice and think this is a structure with a really interesting history."

She said: "It's got special etched panels on the glass which show the direction of every major city in Britain.

"BT put it at the geographical central point of Great Britain and they got the explorer Ranulph Fiennes to come and open it. So I guess that was someone symbolising someone who had been to every end of the earth."

She added: "Ranulph Fiennes has been to the North Pole and the South Pole. It was an opening ceremony that was all about connecting people across the world.

"But I think it's really just to say that Dunsop Bridge has got something unique and special."

BT has been contacted for comment.

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