• UNDER the guise of offering wifi hotspots (previously available from existing kiosks), BT is making multiple applications for advertising hoardings on Islington pavements.

At almost three metres high, the proposed hoardings are considerably taller than the existing 2.2metre-high kiosks, and would even outstrip bus stops in height.

What are proposed therefore are structures which would form a much greater visual obstruction from all sides, and an ideal hiding place for muggers in a borough which already suffers high levels of phone theft.

The confirmed objective is to attract the attention of drivers, with advertisements specifically set at driver sightlines. This is not reassuring given the number of accidents recorded on Islington roads at www.crashmap.co.uk.

The type of dominant advertising proposed is rarely found in high-value areas but placed in those not considered worthy of better care. Permission for such structures therefore is a way of designating an area as being of low value.

That damage would then be further exacerbated by BT’s minimal interest in maintenance, evident from existing phone kiosks in the borough, which makes it more than likely that any new BT structure would be left to become equally shoddy.

Transport for London policy acknowledges that such advertising is problematic and Islington policy does not support the introduction of the type of structure proposed, so there are plenty of reasons as well as precedent for the refusal of these proposals.

KATE CALVERT
Chair, Better Archway Forum