Two old phone boxes in Bedford Square need a new job, and councillors want ideas

The two red phone boxes near the King’s Road end of Bedford Square have been out of use for years, and two councillors want to hear what the neighbourhood would like them to become. Alison Thomson, Labour councillor for Regency ward, and Jacob Allen, the council’s cabinet member for the public realm, have asked residents and nearby businesses to send in ideas, the Argus¹ first reported.

People have already suggested a community book exchange, a defibrillator, mini art displays and a place to share local history. The councillors stressed that nothing has been decided.

“I want to thank residents who’ve been in touch already with some excellent ideas,” Cllr Thomson told the Argus. “I shall be organising a public meeting very soon to discuss these where we’ll hopefully be able to sign up some local volunteers.”

Cllr Allen, a Labour councillor for Woodingdean, said in the same report that the aim was to find “creative ways to revitalise underused spaces and redundant features”.

Both kiosks are Grade II listed. Historic England^4,5 lists them as K6 kiosks, the cast-iron design with a domed roof that Sir Giles Gilbert Scott drew up in 1935. They were listed in 1990 and stand about 12 metres from King’s Road.

Residents have looked at this before. In 2020 the Bedford Square Garden Project was interested in taking the boxes on through BT’s Adopt a Kiosk scheme, Nancy Platts, then leader of the Labour opposition on the council, wrote in Brighton and Hove News⁷. Adoption costs £1 a box, and the adopter takes on ownership and liability. BT says a kiosk can go to a recognised public body such as a town or parish council, or to a registered charity.

Ideas can go by email to either councillor, or by post to Hove Town Hall, Norton Road, Hove BN3 3BQ.