PLANS to install digital kiosks in Newquay to replace outdated public payphones have been given the go ahead.

Cornwall Council has approved a planning application to erect a street hub and remove a payphone outside the post office in East Street.

A planning application to install a street hub at Cliff Road and remove five associated payphones has also been approved.

The street hubs, which have already been rolled out in parts of the country, offer free ultrafast Wi-Fi, free phone calls, emergency service access, rapid device charging, public information and wayfinding, environmental monitoring and 4G/5G boosting capability.

The BT Street Hub project aims to modernise street infrastructure, reduce street clutter by replacing larger, older phone boxes, and support the creation of "smart cities".

BT partners with Global, a media and entertainment group, for the advertising aspects of the project, which fully funds the deployment and maintenance of the hubs at no cost to the taxpayer or local authorities.

Mitle Telcoms, on behalf of BT said: “BT is continuing to move forward with public connectivity and benefits in which Street Hubs will provide a sleek and modern answer to the demands of a digitally connected society.

“BT Street Hubs include the ability to house 5G small cells which is very much in line with current UK Government’s guidance on communications infrastructure and the national infrastructure strategy.

“Since the rollout of InLinks, there has been increased focus on green initiatives and environmental monitoring. Street Hubs take this into account and can house sensors that count pedestrian, cyclist and vehicle movements as well as monitor air, sound and light. This free information will help the planning system actively manage patterns of growth in support of national air quality objectives and the Governments ten-point plan for a Green Industrial Revolution.

“It will be a useful source of real time data in the delivery of the council’s own green agenda, travel plans and can be used to present a business case for carbon offset credit. Overall, Street Hubs will help future-proof the high street making them smarter, safer, and more sustainable. Investment in the high street is at an all-time low, but that has not slowed BT down as they look to ramp up their rollout of new Street Hubs across the UK.

“They are continuing their commitment to invest and improve in the high street, with one Street Hub at a time, and with that, decluttering these environments with the associated removal of existing and redundant BT phone boxes.”