Ribble Valley Labour activists are opposing plans which have been put forward for three BT advertisement screens in Clitheroe town centre, claiming they are too modern looking for the town centre.
Ribble Valley Borough Council candidates for Primrose ward, Mike Willcox and Michael Graveston, are strongly opposing plans submitted to erect three BT Street Hub monoliths around the town centre.
BT submitted three planning applications to Ribble Valley Borough Council for the installation of three Street Hubs in Clitheroe.
Street Hubs are free-standing structures featuring a fully accessible tablet interface and digital HD display screens on two sides.
They will provide free ultrafast Wi-Fi, rapid device charging, offer free emergency calls and can also offer the potential for enhanced mobile phone signal.
The proposals state the hubs will be located in Castle Street outside Boots, in King Street, outside the former Lloyds Pharmacy, and the third outside The White Lion Hotel in Market Place.
The hub in King Street will take the place of a BT phone box while the other two are on sites where there are no phone boxes, however, BT has said that two phone boxes would be removed from other areas in the council district.
And since the applications have been submitted, Ribble Valley Labour candidates are opposing the plans, stating they would ‘tower over pedestrians and be completely out of keeping with the character of the town centre conservation area’.
Ribble Valley Labour Party Chair Michael Graveston said: “These objects would tower over pedestrians and be completely out of keeping with the character of the town centre conservation area.
“As Clitheroe Civic Society has pointed out, towns such as Blackburn, Harrogate and Cheltenham have rejected similar applications from BT.
“We urge the planning committee of Ribble Valley to stand up for the character of Clitheroe and reject all three applications.
“I am no Luddite. In fact – and perhaps ironically – I work in the digital marketing industry.
“However, I see no benefit in these proposals to the people of Clitheroe or our town centre, other than a trio of garish plinths of pixels protruding out of the pavement, totally out of keeping with the town’s objectives and image as a historical, tourist-friendly market town.
“I urge the Conservative and Liberal Democrat groups on the council and planning committee to turn down this application and look into the future ownership and viable alternatives of these small parcels of land.”
Mike Willcox of Ribble Valley Labour has begun a petition to prevent the BT Hubs from being installed.
Speaking about the proposals when plans were first put into the council, a BT spokesperson said: “We believe Clitheroe would benefit from the improved functionality offered by Street Hubs including free ultra-fast WiFi, rapid device charging and the potential for enhanced mobile connectivity.
“Street Hubs also take up less space on high streets than traditional payphones and can provide further benefits such as air quality monitoring for local authorities.”
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