Calls for 'iconic' phone box to return

A fight to bring back an "iconic" piece of a town's history continues two years after a car crash destroyed a Grade II listed K8 phone box.

Hailed as an emblem from the "swinging 60s", the loss of Highworth's big, red-panelled box is still felt around the Wiltshire town.

Campaigner Tom Sykes has appealed to BT and Swindon Borough Council to reinstall the "landmark".

He said: "Preserving all our British heritage, including communication heritage, is really important. If we let something like this go, bit by bit we lose telephone boxes which I think is an important bit of our history to maintain."

The phone box was granted Grade II listed status in 2010, before it was destroyed in 2023.

Despite this, BT said it was left damaged beyond repair and was a risk to public safety.

Swindon Borough Council investigated the case and leaders said they were "disappointed" by BT's ruling. However, the authority decided not to pursue it further.

A council spokesperson added many of the old boxes are no longer used for the original purpose, but have been adopted by communities and turned into things like libraries, defibrillators and food banks.

BT said that it understands the "value of the kiosk to the community but given the damage caused by the collision, we acted promptly and made a decision based on the safety of the general public".

A few decades ago, there was a force of about 11,000 K8s across the UK, but now there are less than 50.

Mr Sykes said Highworth's phone box was an iconic landmark and was still working and during the pandemic residents turned it into a library.

He is calling on authorities to either repair the K8 or replace it with another one.

"It's sad. It was always something you could see from our window. It's style was very unique," he added.

However, Oli Marshall from The Twentieth Century Society, which campaigns for outstanding buildings, believes the K8 could be salvaged.

He said: "Sourcing replacement parts or a whole replacement should be completely possible."

"They were an icon of the swinging sixties. They were the last in the line of the great red telephone boxes."

They were designed in 1965-66 by architect Bruce Martin, an update of the classic Giles Gilbert Scott K2 and K6 phone boxes.

"They were a intelligent update. It was designed for a new age. It was easier to repair and maintain and they're just very jolly, fun things that are valuable parts of our national heritage," Mr Marshall added.

Mr Marshall added that he is aware councils have "limited resources" and "have to prioritise", but feels that with the help of the society, it is "surely possible" to get something done with BT and the council.

"They are just as much a part of our national heritage as anything else."

The council suggested asking Highworth Town Council if a replacement could be bought using Community Infrastructure Levy funds from new developments.

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