Five year plan to move historic phone box moves closer

A planning application submitted by Newtown Town Council to relocate the town's historic red telephone box will come before its own councillors on Monday, marking the latest development in a project that has been discussed for several years.

Members of the Economy and Environment Committee will consider the application to move the Grade II listed kiosk from outside the Regent Cinema on Back Lane to a new location near HSBC on High Street.

The town council itself has submitted the application to Powys County Council, seeking permission to refurbish the telephone box and give it a new community use.

The proposal represents a significant step forward in the long-running project, which has featured in council discussions and budgets over several years but has yet to result in the kiosk being restored or relocated.

The application, received by Powys County Council on 15 October and validated five days later, seeks "listed building consent for removal and refurbishment of red telephone call box together with relocation and repurposing as a community asset".

It follows previous discussions about preserving the kiosk and finding a suitable future use for a structure which is no longer required for its original purpose.

The council has continued to make financial provision for the project, although the relocation has yet to take place.

Its agreed Economy and Environment budget for 2026/27 includes £3,000 for the telephone box, while the second draft budget for 2027/28 proposes a further £1,000.

The latest planning application includes a heritage impact assessment, a proposed schedule of restoration works, photographs of the kiosk and drawings showing its proposed new position.

The red telephone box is a K6 design, introduced in 1936 and designed by architect Sir Giles Gilbert Scott to mark the Silver Jubilee of King George V.

Newtown's example is believed to have been installed after the Second World War and was granted Grade II listed status in May 1988.

The official heritage listing describes it as a "K6-type square, red kiosk of cast-iron construction".

It also records that the kiosk was manufactured by MacFarlane's Saracen Foundry in Glasgow.

Its current position outside the Regent Cinema places it alongside one of Newtown's most historically important buildings.

The former Flannel Exchange was built in the early 1830s, when the town was a major centre of the Welsh flannel industry, before eventually being converted into a cinema.

The telephone box was listed partly because of its relationship with the surrounding historic buildings, meaning any proposed relocation must take account of its heritage significance.

Under the latest proposals, the kiosk would remain in the town centre but would be moved to High Street, close to HSBC.

The council's intention is to restore it and repurpose it as a community asset, although the precise use of the refurbished telephone box has not yet been confirmed.

Monday's committee meeting will give councillors an opportunity to consider the application as part of the planning consultation process, despite the council itself being the applicant.

Powys County Council will be responsible for determining whether listed building consent should be granted.

No decision has yet been issued, and there is currently no confirmed date for the restoration or relocation work.