PLANS for a chain of ‘Street Hubs’ across York offering a range of digital information, advertising and free telephone calls have been rejected by council planners.

Telecommunications giant BT submitted proposals for nine sites across the city centre, which would feature two 75-inch screens; and in some cases, replace existing phone boxes.

The locations were: Blossom Street, St Helens Square, Kings Square, St Sampsons Square, Parliament Street, Bishopthorpe Road, The Stonebow, St Maurices Road and fronting Museum Gardens.

When it announced its plans earlier this summer, BT likened the hubs to a 21st Century noticeboard and equivalent to the original K1 telephone kiosk, launched in 1921.

In its first application, for Blossom Street, BT said: “This forms part of a strategic package of applications submitted to the City of York Council for a number of Street Hubs located throughout York’s existing streetscapes.

“It should be noted that these proposals for the installation of a number of Street Hubs will see with it the removal of existing, outdated and worndown BT payphones, at no extra cost to the council.”

BT said removing the payphones would help declutter streets with hubs of a “sleek modern and innovative design” that would be “in keeping with its location.”

With their services, including free phone calls, digital information and public notices, plus their cleaning and maintenance funded by advertising, BT added the hubs would also meet local and national planning and digital policies.

However, city council planners have rejected each of the hubs with a range of individual reasons for each of them.

They described the hubs as “monoliths” and said they would ‘conflict’ with a range of local and national planning policies.

Typically, the council said the hubs and their design, scale and location “would have an adverse effect” on the historic townscape and nearby historic buildings.

In each case, council officials would identify individual buildings they said would be ‘harmed’ by the hubs being erected nearby.

Council planning staff also said the hubs would in many cases harm the “functionality, visual amenity and character of the Central Historic Core Conservation Area.”

The hubs were also “detrimental to local distinctiveness and character and to the design and function of public spaces.”

Furthermore, council staff also said the hubs would also “form an obstruction to safe and suitable access and movement for all use of public space.”

In some cases, the proposed advertisement screens, close to roadsides, “would raise issues of highway safety for both pedestrians and vehicles.”

And typically, the planners also concluded: “There are no public benefits which outweigh the identified harm. "

In each case, BT was also guided on how to appeal, should it wish.