WHAT should Carhampton do with its traditional red village phone box now that its number is finally up?

The parish council was this week appealing to residents for ideas on how best to put the empty 1930s kiosk to good use.

“We certainly do not want to lose what is a centre-piece of the village,” said parish council chairman Cllr Brenda Maitland-Walker.

“We are also prepared to pay for painting and renovation, but we are also keen to find a purpose for it which benefits as many residents as possible.

“Some redundant boxes in the area are being used as book exchanges and somewhere to keep a medical defibrillator, but we already have these services in place.”

Cllr Maitland-Walker said the parish was also fighting a move by BT to remove a telephone from Blue Anchor seafront.

She said: “The general belief locally is that the phone should be there for safety reasons in case of any emergency on the beach or in the sea.

“There are still many people who do not have a mobile phone on which to summon help.”

In an appeal to residents, Carhampton Parish Council said: “The red phone box is a familiar and much-loved part of our village streetscape.

“Up and down the country, communities have transformed their kiosks into all manner of things - a mini-library, a display case for local history, a small gallery for artwork, a community noticeboard, a toy exchange, or even a little pantry where people can leave and take food and household essentials.

“The possibilities are limited only by your imagination, and the council would love to hear your thoughts.

“What would you most like to see in our phone box?

“Whether you have a fully-formed idea or just a vague notion, do share it.”

According to BT, there are now only 10 working telephone boxes in West Somerset ‘due to a steep decline in usage’.

Many redundant West Somerset and Exmoor town and village telephone boxes have been bought for a nominal £1 by local councils and repurposed as community book exchanges.

Telephone boxes converted to book exchanges include those in Wiveliscombe, Sampford Brett, and Luccombe, regularly maintained and restocked by residents.

The traditional red K6 telephone box located on Main Road, in Roadwater, became the village's book exchange and community sharing space, and a box at the lower end of the village transformed into a ‘pastimes exchange’, containing shelves filled with jigsaws, knitting magazines, fabrics, wool, and games for residents and visitors to borrow or swap.

The traditional kiosk in Brompton Regis was saved from BT removal following local campaigns and was preserved as a listed building and used as an information hub.

Clatworthy’s box was also saved from being scrapped and has been adopted by the parish council to house a life-saving defibrillator, as were the redundant boxes in Brompton Ralph and the grade two listed 1935 kiosk in Timberscombe.

Ideas for a new use for the Carhampton box should be emailed to [email protected].