Villagers fear their safety net is gone after telephone boxes were removed from a remote community.
The chair of Garsdale Parish Council described the removal of two telephone boxes from the village as riding roughshod over the needs of local communities.
BT removed the phone boxes, on Main Street and near Garsdale Railway Station, at the end of July.
Chair Jack Butterworth said: “It might seem a small issue to some people but for communities like ours that rely on these reassuring presences they’re very big and important decisions.
A spokesman for Westmorland and Furness Council said: “We understand the importance of traditional telephone boxes to communities and appreciate the disappointment residents feel in losing this community asset in Garsdale.”
Mr Butterworth said the telephone boxes provided a level of reassurance to residents when there are power cuts, which, he said, occur three to four times a year in the South Cumbrian village.
He also told the Local Democracy Reporting Service the parish council was not consulted on the removal of the telephone boxes and had held a meeting on July 18 where they discussed upgrading the area around the telephone box on Main Street to make it a focal point in the village.
Mr Butterworth added: “If we can’t get this phone box back and BT to reinstate a line, we’re going to have to look at how we support residents with possible communications blackouts and what sort of systems we can put in place to support residents.
“As I’ve said there are ill and infirm residents, elderly residents, who are reassured by having some kind of communication there that’s not subject to electric cuts or blackouts
“As a council we are going to meet as soon as we can to decide on how we’re going to move forward with this.”
BT said it had conducted a consultation period lasting the usual 90 days on the removal of the telephone boxes. Notices were placed in the affected kiosks advising of the telephone box removal plans, said BT.
A Freedom of Information request sent to Westmorland and Furness Council confirmed the council received emails on February 12 and June 15 from BT regarding the removal of phoneboxes but did not respond.
A BT spokesman said: “We consulted with Westmorland and Furness Council on plans to remove 10 redundant payphones in the area as part of our wider programme to remove underused payphones across the UK. These removals are being carried out in line with Ofcom’s latest guidance.
“With the vast majority of people now using mobile phones, it’s led to a huge drop in the number of calls made from payphones. At the same time, mobile coverage has improved significantly in recent years due to investment in masts and the Shared Rural Network programme.
“We’d urge any communities that would still like to retain their local kiosk to take it on for £1 through our Adopt a Kiosk scheme.”
A spokesman for Westmorland and Furness Council added: “We are a needs-led council which always endeavours to represent our communities voices to partners, such as BT, where concerns are raised.
“We understand that BT informed the community by advertising the proposed removal in the telephone box itself, which encouraged members of the public to give their feedback to the council. No representations were subsequently made.
“Our community teams work with and represent all our communities and they were not informed about the proposed removal. It appears that BT emailed council planning teams about the removal. However, as the Yorkshire Dales National Park Authority is the planning authority for the area, no action was taken.”
A spokesman for the Yorkshire Dales National Park Authority said: “Our understanding is that BT must assess the removal of public call boxes against key criteria and then consult the relevant public body, which in this case is Westmorland and Furness Council.
“It is a matter for Westmorland and Furness Council to decide how and if to respond and whether to consult others.”
