Lincoln ‘going to fall further behind’ after broadband hub rejection

The chance to replace ‘eyesore’ phone boxes on the High Street with a futuristic touchscreen broadband hub is a missed opportunity, Lincoln residents say.

BT’s application for the first in a series of 5G-boosting boxes on Lincoln High Street was denied by planners.

The Street Hubs would have offered free ultrafast Wi-Fi, charging points, increased 5G signal and information touchscreens.

A council report turned them down for being ‘harmful to the character’ of the conservation area, but residents have said the existing phone boxes look even worse.

The rejected application would have removed the phone boxes next to Barclays on Lincoln High Street and installed the Street Hub.

The design was criticised by City of Lincoln planning officers for “adding to existing street clutter” and being “an unduly prominent and discordant feature within the street scene.”

How the area on Lincoln high street looks currently | Photo: LDRS/The Lincolnite

More applications – which haven’t been determined yet – have been submitted along the High Street, Saltergate and outside the Central Railway Station.

Lincolnite readers said the decision was a missed opportunity to boost the town centre.

“Don’t complain when you can’t get a signal. These have been rolled out across the country and are less than an eyesore than the two phone boxes that exist already,” one reader said.

“So Lincoln is going to be even more far behind!? Great!” another said on social media.

Others disputed that they would add to street clutter, saying the hubs would “replace a horrible old phone box”.

“I’m surprised that the phone boxes were allowed, as they are more of a blot than the new smart hubs would be.”

Another commented: “The only use for phone boxes are for somewhere to stand to use your mobile when it’s raining” – while it was pointed out some saw them as a spot for urinating.

Other nearby applications for Street Hubs are still being considered | Photo: BT

But not everyone was on board with the idea of the street hubs.

Town Councillor Adam Brookes (Liberal Democrat – Market Deeping) wrote on Twitter: “If the phone boxes are redundant, them just remove them.

“That they’ve existed for a long time is not a good reason for some other thing to clutter the street instead in their place. This is just BT wanting to sell advertising space.”

BT’s planning application described the street hubs as “the next evolution of public connectivity”, with two 75” LCD advertising screens.

They would offer free phone calls, maps, weather and the BT phone book.

The remaining applications are set to be determined in the coming weeks.

MyLocal Lincolnshire is the new home of The Lincolnite. Download the app now.