Preston city centre under attack from a third digital advert provider

Now Preston city centre is facing a third invasion by digital advertisers in the shape of BT Street Hubs.

The telecom giant as put in a planning request for two multi-advert LED posters at the site of an existing phone box in Lune Street.

And the city council will now have to decide if, like the Trojan horse kiosks and some roadside TV displays, the slimline hi-tech units have no place on the city's busiest streets.

The BT Street Hubs employ the same digital technology to flip big screen advertisements every 10 seconds to passers-by.

They have been added to many town and city centres in recent years to display ads in prime locations.

Preston Council fought a successful campaign in 2019/20 to prevent the appearance of eight Trojan horse phone boxes – so called because they were seen by some to be a sneaky way to get advertising space into city centres. It has since won a couple of appeals to prevent free-standing roadside screens popping up at certain traffic hotspots.

But while BT Street Hubs are similar to Trojans they offer something extra which may swing it with the Town Hall – and lead to more phone box screens in future.

It comes in the form of free local services content. Authorities are offered complimentary time on screens to display local information - one in 20 ads is set aside each year to provide community and council publicity.

A report with the BT application says: "Street Hubs are more than an advertising screen – they’re a key point of reference for local information and an asset to the community.

"Street Hubs are also capable of providing access to maps to the public, and giving directions to nearby landmarks and services – a valuable resource for visitors or those without access to a smartphone.”

The report goes on: "Modern cities require digital connectivity provision, both for residents and visitors, to enable their day to day living and enjoyment of recreational activities, all of which contributes to the vitality of the city and its economic and social sustainability.

"BT’s Street Hubs will provide such a service. However, to enable this to be provided free of cost to the taxpayer (national and local), advertisement on either side of the unit is required to support this function.

"These screens will display content at 10-second intervals, including commercial content that funds the service, as well as a wide range of local community and council content.

"Each local authority is provided with five per cent of screen time on each Street Hub unit annually to promote and educate, equivalent to 876 hours per unit or 438 hours per screen.

"This content would be scheduled and can tell residents and visitors about local services, local events and news, as well as warnings and public notices."

Preston Council fought hard to stop a Trojan invasion in key shopping streets including Fishergate, Church Street, Friargate and Market Street.

The units were purported to be street communication hubs, but the council won an appeal arguing they added to street clutter.

The battle has since switched to digital screens at key roadside locations, with the council refusing some applications based on their impact on neighbouring residents.