BT's lofty 10-year ambition for a national rollout which would see 2,000 former phone boxes converted into new "digital hubs" has been left hanging on the line again in Gloucestershire after planners torpedoed a bid for the tech to come to a Cotswold town.

Applying on behalf of BT Telecommunications PLC, Mitie Telecoms asked Stroud District Council for permission to remove a brace of phone boxes on a 10 sqm area of highways-adoped land outside the Sainsbury's Castle Street supermarket in Dursley. The move followed the telecoms giant's request in 2023 for a hub in Stroud's pedestrianised High Street, close to the town's Greggs outlet.

But as with the Stroud bid – which was condemned by Cheltenham Civic Society as "not the answer", adding that "BT already clutters our streets with these dirty, badly maintained, inappropriate barriers that collect debris and grime, and drag down our public realm" – planners have again pulled the plug.

There is no indication of yet as to whether BT will appeal. Its submitted details for the scheme revealed that the key features were two large 75-inch digital screens, the hub offering 1Gbps free public Wi-Fi, free UK calls, USB charging, an emergency services button and a range of other digital services for residents and visitors. In principle, Dursely Town Council accepted the idea.

But having said the designs, which mirrored the Stroud projec,t were "alien" and '"incongruous", this time the refusal verdict said that the "siting, design, scale and illumination" would not cause "less than substantial harm to the Dursley Conservation Area which is not outweighed by any public benefit."

Rachel Brown, Case Officer for SDC added: "The proposed hub would appear visually prominent and strident within the street scene, representing an inappropriate design and appearance that would be contrary to Criterion 5 of Policy CP14 and Policy ES12 of the Stroud District Local Plan (2015)."

BT first showed the new digital communication points as part of its 10-year plan in 2024, but beyond any resistance from Gloucestershire's planning conservation laws, the idea appears to be hugely controversial elsewhere.

Last week, a parallel bid was rejected by South Gloucestershire planners for hubs in Bristol's Staple Hill and Kingswood. Planners ruled: "The proposals would occupy valuable walkway space, restricting the flow of pedestrian movement and hindering accessibility for individuals with mobility issues, serve as a distraction, and obstruct pedestrians' views, thereby exacerbating safety risks for pedestrians."

Elsewhere, the idea fell apart in Salisbury in January this year, while 27 similar schemes were rejected wholesale in Bristol city centre in 2024 amid 750 objections from members of the public. Two more hubs were also rejected in Swindon in the same year.

The 'hub' of most criticism is that large screens and bright illumination risks making public spaces look bland, corporate, and homogeneous, particularly in historic areas, while advertising could be distracting and the technology could, ironically serve as a magnet for antisocial behaviour.