New state-of-the-art 'street hubs' in Lancaster to replace old payphones

BT have submitted a proposal to Lancaster City Council for a hub to be installed outside Sainsbury’s in Cable Street, Lancaster, as part of a planned roll-out across the city.

The BT Street Hubs are described as "a sleek, modern answer to the demands of a digitally connected, converged-media society".

More than 950 have already been installed across the UK.

In 2022, Lancaster City Council refused permission for street hubs outside Marks and Spencer on Penny Street and near St Nicholas Arcades car park on Church Street.

It was said they would appear as “an obtrusive and conspicuous feature causing significant visual harm to the amenity of the area, and detrimental to the appearance and character of the street scene and public realm."

The latest proposal is for the "installation of a BT Street Hub with double sided digital screen" for the footpath outside Sainsbury's.

The plans would also see two existing BT phone boxes – on Bulk Road and Ullswater Road in Lancaster – removed.

BT said this is part of "a strategic package of applications submitted to Lancaster City Council, containing Street Hubs located within existing streetscapes in the council area".

A report to the council said: "Local authorities across the country use Streets Hubs to meet key challenges head-on such as upgrading local infrastructure, tackling the digital divide, and freeing the high street from unnecessary furniture.

"With Street Hubs, BT are further transforming the payphone estate by making streets smarter, with ultrafast wifi, public messaging, and better mobile connectivity.

"We are making them safer with ready emergency services. Furthermore, BT are making them more sustainable, with sensors allowing for ‘smart city’ planning and reduced street clutter.

"Street Hubs are free-standing structures featuring a fully accessible tablet interface and digital HD display screens on two sides.

"Overall, Street Hub dimensions are 35cm deep and 123.6cm wide and a height of 298.6cm to maximise the wifi range without dominating the street.

"Street Hubs have been designed to be accessible to all users, regardless of their physical or technological capabilities.

"Street Hubs are free to use, fully accessible community assets connecting and improving local streets in urban areas.

"At no cost to taxpayers or end users, Street Hubs provide communities with an unprecedented suite of essential urban tools including: Ultrafast public and encrypted Wi-Fi, powered by 100% renewable carbon-free energy, inspected weekly and cleaned at least every two weeks, monitored 24/7, free phone calls, display community and emergency (i.e. police) awareness messaging, ability to house IoT sensors such as air quality, traffic etc.”

Street hubs are funded through display advertising and via sponsorship from companies.

The screens display content at 10-second intervals, in the form of both the commercial content that funds the service, as well as a wide range of local community and council content.

As such, the proposed Street Hub will provide 876 hours of free council advertising per year with the opportunity for discounted advertising for local business groups (such as BIDs and Chambers of Commerce) and their members through BT’s Street Hub Partners Program.

All Street Hubs are powered by 100% renewable carbon-free energy.

The plans will be discussed at a future Lancaster City Council planning meeting.