Questions over the future of red phone box

The future of Newtown's last remaining red telephone box is uncertain.

The Grade II listed telephone box next to the Regent Centre in Back Lane had been put up for "adoption" as part of a scheme run by BT to find alternative uses for its redundant phone boxes.

Newtown Town Council had expressed an interest in taking it over, possibly as a location for a defibrillator or for other use.

But the council's Economy and Environment Committee has asked for more information about ongoing costs if it takes on responsibility for the phone box.

Similar phone boxes, such as one in Montgomery, have become tourist information centres and defibrillator stations.

If nobody is willing to adopt the phone box, BT is likely to remove it and it would be sold off.

The committee has asked for details about ongoing electrical costs, the cost of making the box safe, and if it can be moved.

The committee has also questioned that if it is listed, can BT actually remove it.