Minutes of the Special Parish Council Meeting held on Monday 14th June 2004 

at Mosedale Meeting House

Regarding the proposed removal of Pay Phones within the Parish of Mungrisdale at:

 

Centre of the Village Mungrisdale                               CA11 0XR                  01768779677

Junction of Lane to Swineside, Mosedale                CA11 0XQ                  01768779276

Adjacent to Horseshoe Inn, Hutton Roof                  CA11 0XS                   01768484239

 

The meeting was chaired by Mrs. Lesley Smith who welcomed 5 councillors and 25 parishioners.

Apologies received from Mike Bohling; Mr. and Mrs. Blackshaw; Ann Manger;

Pat Green; Mr. and Mrs. Taylor

The consultation period has been extended to 5 August as BT has been unable to place the official notices within the individual telephone boxes.

It was agreed that we should seek to retain all three of the telephone boxes within the Parish.  Points raised and discussed at the meeting:

Mobile Phones

Most mobile phones do not work in the area – those that do are unreliable
Visitors do not realise this and for some the payphones provide the only means of contact.

 

Local Residents

One 82 year old does not have a telephone and relies totally on the payphone
When there are phone breakdowns in the area the payphone often works and this is used to report faults and have been the only form of communication. 
In Mosedale a public meeting was held to discuss problems and a representative from BT attended.
School Buses use the telephone boxes as drop off points in the evening   

 

Distance to other phones is to be calculated and included in the Parish letter

The nearest remaining telephones would be Berrier and Hesket Newmarket
Mungrisdale to Berrier                                     
Mungrisdale to Hesket Newmarket                  
Mosedale to Berrier                                         
Mosedale to Hesket Newmarket                                 
Hutton Roof to Berrier                                     
Hutton Roof to Hesket Newmarket                  

 

Walkers/Visitors

Phone boxes are marked on all walking maps – how long will it take for these to be removed and reissues
Walkers on Cumbrian Way were too tired to carry on the Caldbeck and made their way to Mosedale to use the telephone box to get help as mobiles didn’t work.

 

Costs/Maintenance of phone boxes

What are the costs of maintaining the phone boxes?
Vandalism will not be as much of an issue as it is in Penrith or Carlisle
Does every box have to pay for itself?
Local phones must be lower maintenance as opposed to the towns

 

General Points

Irresponsible to remove the phone boxes in this area and if necessary the town boxes should subsidise those in the country
There is a social obligation to the rural communities to provide means of communication
Police Authority believe that they are key for emergencies on the fells
Telephone boxes are distinctive points of contact to be found in villages – and can be used as a meeting point for police or ambulances in an emergency
Dave Walsh from BT will support our case in respect of mobiles not working  in the area
Deliveries and drivers – often unable to find houses use the phone boxes for directions
This area is on the Coast 2 Coast Route and the Cumbrian Way

 

People to Contact

·        David MacLean

·        Rural Affairs Minister

·        Voluntary Action Cumbria

·        National Park

·        Mountain Rescue

·        Calvert Trust

·        Ramblers Association

·        Newton Rigg

·        Blencathra Centre

 

ACTION

Individual Letters to be sent to BT
Letter to be sent from the Parish Council
BT to be asked to meet with the Parish Council representatives provide details of maintenance costs and to
Letters to be sent to the above list to ask for support in fighting the closure of the payphones

 

Everyone was thanked for attending the meeting.

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