A DOZEN phone-booths in Bradford will be removed in the next few months to be replaced with high tech hubs.

And telecoms giant BT has said they are looking at other possible sites where it could install the InLink units, which include tablet screens, WiFi and phone charging points.

Earlier this summer BT submitted a series of planning applications to Bradford Council that would allow them to replace phone booths at a number of locations with the monolith like hubs.

Planning officers at the Council have now approved the six applications, and the InLink boards will be installed at White Abbey Road, the Junction Of Manchester Road and Newall Street, outside the Gallopers on Wakefield Road, on St Thomas’s Road, Chester Street and Bridge Street, near City Hall.

Planners said the units would not harm the street scene, and one of the conditions limits the illuminations levels of the screens.

BT told the Telegraph & Argus that the upgrades were a “significant investment” in the city, and each unit would replace two phone booths, leading to less clutter on the city’s streets.

In their application they added: “The technology will ensure communities in urban areas are well-served in the digital age through the roll out of InLinks to replace and rationalise their network of payphones.”

No traditional red booths will be replaced as part of the upgrade.

Some of the booths that are being replaced had themselves replaced older phone booths as recently as last year.

BT says the InLink units will be “no cost to the taxpayer” and provide free ultrafast Wi-Fi, phone calls, wayfinding, device charging, an emergency 999 call button, public messaging capabilities, and “a platform for interactive technologies on the streets such as air quality monitoring.”

Similar facilities have recently been installed in Leeds, London and Bristol, and BT says they provide 438 hours of Council content on the screens on each InLink per year, and can be used to promote local events.

A BT spokesperson said: “We, along with our partner InLinkUK, have recently received planning consents to install six InLinks in Bradford, representing a significant investment in the local community.

“As part of our national rollout, each InLink will replace two BT payphones, and based on the current consents we have in Bradford, 12 payphones are set to be removed in the city.

“Our iconic heritage listed red phone boxes are not affected.

“The initial phase of the Bradford rollout will begin in the coming months, with additional sites in the city currently being looked at.

“The InLinkUK from BT service offers a wide variety of free benefits for locals, visitors, tourists and businesses.

“The introduction of InLinks to the area will provide the fastest free public Wi-Fi in the UK, along with free phone calls and rapid device charging.”