Upper Cound - defibrillator fundraiser

In 2021 BT first advised Shropshire Council that they were planning to decommission a number of telephone kiosks in Shropshire. A consultation process took place to ascertain whether any of the earmarked telephone kiosks were actually used and it was discovered that no calls had been made from the one in Upper Cound in quite some time.

It was therefore decommissioned in 2023 and at that point Cound Parish Council was offered the opportunity to adopt the telephone kiosk for the sum of £1. In some parts of the country the traditional K6 red telephone boxes have been repurposed as book exchanges, art galleries, local produce shops and vertical herb gardens. Unfortunately, BT specified that the KX100 model, as found in Upper Cound, could only be used for the purpose of housing a defibrillator. At the January 2024 meeting of Cound Parish Council, it was discussed whether the telephone kiosk should be adopted. It was decided that the Parish Council had insufficient funds to purchase a third defibrillator (parish council managed defibrillators are available at The Guildhall and Cound Moor Village Hall) but would adopt the kiosk for £1 and it would be available for the community of Upper Cound to house a defibrillator should they wish to buy one. By May 2024 the telephonic equipment had been removed from the kiosk and ownership was transferred from BT to Cound Parish Council.

From now until 23 November, a fundraiser (with a target of £2,500) is running to finance the purchase and installation of a defibrillator for the former telephone kiosk in Upper Cound. If you are interested in donating please contact Tim Roberts on [email protected]. If a defibrillator is installed then Cound Parish Council will supply any consumables (such as batteries and pads) going forward.

Further defibrillators in the Parish can be found at Cound Cricket Club, Harnage Estates and Cound Park. To locate your nearest defibrillator you can click here but in the case of an emergency dial 999 and you will be directed to the closest available device.