Battle of the Monsters

Well not exactly Godzilla vs King Kong but fly posters have gone head to head with graffiti artists to see who can make the biggest mess of the abandoned BT telephone kiosk on Beagle Ridge Drive.

Hopefully BT will remove the kiosk along with the advertising quickly now. They disconnected power to the redundant payphone some 4 weeks ago.

Meanwhile, as possibly befits an upmarket neighbourhood, fly posters have appeared on lampposts near the entrance to the All Saints & Millthorpe schools on The Mount.

They are offering the services of a private tutor. No doubt the teachers at the schools will be thrilled by the development.

Nine payphone kiosks to be removed

List of payphones in York which may be removed

BT has applied to remove 9 payphone kiosk from streets in York.

The Copmanthorpe, Strensal, Dringhouses and Westfield areas are affected

None of the iconic “red” K6 kiosks are on the list although there has been criticism recently about the state of repair of some of them. Several of these are “Listed” buildings.

Iconic K6 kiosks are not affected by the current removal plans. Several are in need of refurbishment

Some of the kiosk listed have been a magnet for drug users, vandalism and anti social behaviour. Their removal is likely to be supported by neighbouring residents.

The use of public payphones has dropped to near zero over the years as mobile phone ownership has increased

Phone scam warning to BT customers

The Police have issued a warning about a phone scam targeting BT customers.

Fraud Alert – North Yorkshire  Calls claiming to be from BT.

North Yorkshire Police have recently received a number of calls from residents in relation to a scam call, claiming to be from BT.

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Residents have reported that they have been cold called on the phone, and have been told, by a recorded voice, that they are going to be cut off, or there are issues with their computer/phone line/internet and they have to press 1 to continue.
When pressing 1, the residents have been connected to a line where they have been kept talking to someone who claims to be from BT and has either attempted to obtain bank account details or have had to download something to their computer.

North Yorkshire Police strongly advise you not to press 1. Hang up and contact your phone provider on the customer services number from your bill. If you call from a landline, ensure that you have a dialling tone prior to making the call.

BT have created a webpage on their site to offer advice – www.bt.com/scams

If you have been a victim of this, please contact your bank immediately.
You can also find advice on our website – https://northyorkshire.police.uk/staying-safe/fraud

Improvements in Front Street

Railings painted and weeds removed at the Acomb toilets. Vast improvement.

The cycle hoops on Front Street are to be repainted this week. They will not be available for use in the evening while the work takes place.

The improvement is the first of many instigated by the Westfield Ward Committee and follows the publication of the results of a residents survey in which support for  refurbishment schemes got a high level of residents support.

The repainting programme will move on over the next few weeks to other parts of the area including the Tedder Road park.

Separately, BT has agreed to repair the damaged telephone kiosks on Front Street. The company says that, subject to consultation, the kiosks which are a target for vandals, may be removed altogether next year.