Eight BT street hubs which offer free calls, phone charging and wifi services have all been rejected by a Welsh council over concerns they will be unsightly. BT applied to Newport City Council for permission to site its hubs - which could be described as modern-day telephone boxes - at eight locations in Newport in September to replace traditional phone boxes.
The hubs would have been situated near to the city centre at Granville Street, Bridge Street, Usk Way and Commercial Street. The hubs, which BT says will create smarter and safer public spaces, are three metres tall, have 75-inch touch screens, and are powered by renewable carbon-free energy.
Some of the proposals drew objections. Newport Now Business Improvement District (BID) opposed the hubs planned for 81 Bridge Street and outside the Westgate buildings at Commercial Street over concerns the hub would attract anti-social behaviour. “These street hubs become a magnet for anti-social behaviour, in particular drug dealing,” the BID group said.
