Brixham Town Council has transformed three K6 Red Telephone kiosks into Telebug Hotels, creating mini wildlife havens amongst residential areas of the town.
The kiosks were adopted by the Town Council as part of British Telecoms ‘Adopt a Kiosk’ scheme and cost just £1 each. Recognising the heritage importance of the iconic structures the Council resolved to transform them in line with its environmental ethos.
Each kiosk has been given a new lease of life, a fresh coat of red paint and the crowns restored to their former glory. Telephone signage has been replaced and now proudly displays Brixham Town Council and Telebug Hotel around the tops. A bug hotel has been cleverly created by our Lengthsmen team using natural materials such as pine cones, bark and canes. The Telebug Hotel is being trialled in the Edinburgh Road Kiosk over the summer season and if successful will be rolled out to the other two locations at a later date.
Planters brimming with pollinator friendly plants have been attached to the outside of the kiosk’s, it was fascinating to see how quickly the bees were busy collecting their pollen.
Artwork, in keeping with the wildlife theme, has been commissioned on the Higher Ranscombe Road kiosk, which is located in a busy school catchment area. Professional graffiti artist Urban Gypset brought the kiosk to life with his incredible skill.
Deputy Town Clerk Linda McGuirk said “The community response to this project has been amazing and it’s not just land-based wildlife that we are keen to protect! Brixham Town Council jumped at the chance to support a new initiative launched by The 365 Sea Swim Challenge CIC to protect local marine life too”.
The Crab Line Recycling Scheme was launched this summer by the community conservation and education group and quickly gathered support from the Town Council and local business who sponsored five Crab Line Recycling Bins. The bins are located around the harbour, which is a hot spot with tourists and locals crabbing.
Local businesses have also pledged to reduce the amount of plastic crab lines they sell and now stock plastic free alternatives. During the May half term break over 200 crab lines were deposited in the crab line recycling bins! Odyssey Innovations collect the plastic to make ocean kayaks, pretty cool hey!
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