Pinner telephone kiosk library and and careers hub
In between 2021 and 2024, The Dream Trust UK bought a disused traditional red K6 telephone kiosk from BT for £1 in Pinner High Street where our founder is based and we applied for planning consents and change of use from the local authority (London Borough of Harrow) into a local book exchange library and careers hub. The noticeboard is to allow local businesses to advertise job opportunities and work experience placements for young people in the local area.
We had to apply for planning permission because the kiosk is situated on a public highway within a conservation area and the kiosk itself is a Grade II listed building and so we had to ensure the historical significance and heritage element was not diminished in any way.
After the required permissions were granted, a group of local volunteers set about to refurbish the kiosk by cleaning it, replacing vandalised glass, repainting it and fitting a bespoke shelving system and careers notice board with a period BT payphone 500 as per the planning requirements.
The videos below document our story through this project from whilst works were being completed to the finished product and finally the Grand Opening day kindly officially launched by EastEnders actor Louisa Lytton on Saturday 29th March 2025.
We hope you enjoy the below films and we at The Dream Trust UK are thrilled at the final outcome in the hope that it will provide many years of useful service in the years to come and that we can encourage to replicate this conversion across the country where redundant red telephone kiosks are crying out for a new lease of life by providing a similar valuable community amenity.
Videos
Works under way - October 2024
Telephone kiosk conversion finished - March 2024Let's have a look around!
Grand official opening of the Pinner telephone kiosk library and careers up by EastEnders star - Louisa Lytton
DO YOU WISH TO CONVERT YOUR LOCAL BT RED TELEPHONE KIOSK INTO THE SAME LIBRARY AND CAREERS HUB?
If you wish to adopt a traditional red K6 BT kiosk that already exists on a public highway, you need to firstly make contact with BT who will sell it to you for £1 providing that you meet the eligibility criteria and that they plan to decommission the kiosk for telephone use. Please visit https://business.bt.com/public-sector/street-hubs/adopt-a-kiosk-scheme/ to learn about the process of the BT ‘Adopt a Kiosk’ scheme.
After you have secured your chosen kiosk and if it exists on a public highway, the below will be very useful to you.
The Dream Trust UK would love to see hundreds of these rolled out to communities across the UK. If you have any questions or if we can be of help, do not hesitate to get in touch using the form below.
We have made it easy for you by uploading our:
DWG files for easy CNC wood merchant cutting of shelves available upon request.
The payphone we used was a period BT Payphone 500 (disconnected) but other variants may be suitable.
Each phone box will have idiosyncrasies. We had to adjust shelf S5 by extending the corner cut by 57mm and cutting the very tip off so the phone could fit. Similarly, the top of post P1 was cut as there is only 50mm clearance to the shelf below the phone. See relevant photos in the document pack downloadable below.
As these red telephone kiosks are Grade II Listed, you will need to apply to your local authority for planning permission and change of use consent (assuming your kiosk is on a public highway).
You may use our plans and application as a template for your own purposes which would save a lot of money in planning and architect fees. Thankfully a friend of the Dream Trust UK who is an architect designed our beautiful new library and careers hub at a heavily discounted rate.
If you have any questions, please email mail@dreamtrust.co.uk
