Should it stay or should it go?

The chairman of Eastriggs Community Council, Alexander McKay, lives in the street and wants it kept. He said: “The box was done up not long ago with the glass being replaced and it being repainted, it even has a nice little gold feature at the top.
“I think it would be nice to see it changed into something else, it would be a shame to see it go altogether.
“It could be transformed into a library, it could have flowers put into it as decoration or it can even be transformed into a place to store a defibrillator machine.”
However, his neighbour William Gordon Johnston differs and has been calling for the box to be removed since 1973.
Mr Johnston said: “I built this house in 1973, and ever since I wanted that box moved, it was an eyesore.
“In fairness, before it was all done up, it was so much worse, all the panels were broken and it certainly was not the colour it is now.
“As far as I am aware it is to be removed.
“It has caused problems before, somebody blew the money box off it before to rob it and that sort of thing.”
BT have confirmed that the box is earmarked to be removed, and is in the second stage of the process, but they have not ruled out the opportunity to save the box.
A spokesman for BT said: “With usage declining by more than 90 per cent in the last decade, we’ve continued to review and, where necessary, rationalise our payphone estate to continue to meet remaining customer demand and manage our costs.
“As part of our consultation in Dumfries and Galloway, following Ofcom;s consultation process for payphone removals, no objections to removal were received from the local authority for the payphone on Pretoria Rd, Eastriggs.
“As an alternative to removal, we continue to actively promote the ‘Adopt a Kiosk’ scheme to all councils whilst being committed to maintaining the payphones that remain.
“We are happy to consider a last minute adoption request for this kiosk.”