Sure considers closing some of its phone boxes

Notices have been put up and warn islanders they need to respond by Friday 22 May if they have concerns.

However, the telecoms company has not yet said exactly where the boxes are or how many it is looking to remove.

Three threatened phone boxes have been spotted by the Guernsey Press – one at La Vallette bathing pools, one at L’Ancresse and one at Church Square.

If the latter was removed, that would still leave two phone boxes at the site. The fourth has already been converted into a public access defibrillator.

Sure says that its current focus on Covid-19 means it has not been able to draw up a list of the affected boxes.

‘We review the use of phone boxes annually, unsurprisingly this has fallen drastically in recent years with some payphones being used less than once per month and some have unfortunately been subject to vandalism,’ a spokesperson said.

‘Some phone boxes have already been converted for the community to use for the provision of defibrillators and we are really keen to find other ways in which they can become useful for the local community.

‘If a business or charity would be interested in repurposing an existing phone box – into a hedge veg stall, book exchange point or with another idea – please do get in touch at contact@sure.com.

‘We’re liaising with the constables and Cicra on this matter and have posted notices on the phone boxes we plan to remove. Anyone with concerns over the removal of a specific phone box can email contact@sure.com.

‘The payphones which are being recovered will be recycled and the parts used to maintain Sure’s remaining network of payphones.’

On the phone boxes themselves a notice tells people they need to respond by 22 May if they have concerns.

However, the current lockdown means that many residents are not leaving their home and might not be aware of a phone box notice.