A row has erupted over plans to site high-tech pavement Hubs, incorporating free charging for mobile phones, community notices and an instant contact point for the police, in the centre of Richmond.

The units are being billed as a modern alternative to the traditional payphone, while they will also incorporate defibrillators to help if there is a heart attack emergency.

However, the scheme to put four of the Hubs, which would predominantly be used as electronic advertising billboards, in the centre of the town has led to a very different response from the area's pre-eminent heritage groups.

What the Hubs offer (credit JC Decaux)

The Friends of Richmond Green (FoRG), together with other critics of the Hubs, argue they will add to street clutter and damage the appearance of Richmond's historic streets and buildings.

However, the Richmond Society, which has been promised space on smart community noticeboards built into the hubs, has decided that it will not raise any formal objection.

One of the high-tech Hubs was given permission outside Waitrose in London Road, Twickenham, last year, where it has replaced a street phone box, while others are expected to placed on sites across the borough.

Planning applications have been submitted by the street advertising company JC Decaux for four of the Hubs in the centre of Richmond – The Quadrant; outside 35-38 Lower George Street; on pavement on Northside, George Street; and outside 38 Hill Street.

The Hubs, which measure 2.63m tall by 1.388m wide and 31.7cm deep would all sit in what is the Central Richmond Conservation.

The planning applications state the units would include an interactive community screen, which would provide links to the websites of local groups, such as The Richmond Society.

Proposed locations for the Hubs (credit JC Decaux)

There will be a telephone offering direct connection to the emergency services if people are looking for help. The unit automatically advises its location to the police or ambulance service.

It will also offer free calls to landlines, although not to mobile phones amid concerns that this would make them useful for drug dealing.

There would be quick-dial buttons and web links to selected local or national mental health, child protection and homeless charities.

A small amount of time would be available on the main advertising screen for community use and public information messages.

It is also possible to install CCTV video within the units, which could be used by the police to monitor the streets and support prosecutions. They can also be adapted to include speakers and microphones.

The FoRG complained: "The character of Richmond town and its setting of the Thames Riverside and Richmond Green are paramount to their success for residents, visitors, retail and other commercial enterprises.

"They face challenges from change in a digital age and from current economic weaknesses but it is more essential than ever to reject inappropriate development, such as the proposed Communication Hubs.

"It is clear … that the defibrillator, telephone, information hub and 5% of advertising time promoted for community use by the applicant are loss leaders in which the applicant has no interest. It is solely interested in the profits from the advertising."

The organisation argued that the hubs are 'open to abuse unless carefully managed' and it pointed to issues with hubs that already exist in Twickenham.

It added: "The Council, FoRG and others have been engaged over the last couple of years in a project to de-clutter the town from redundant and inappropriate signage and street furniture and the Hubs will do the exact opposite.

"It would be perverse to waste Council time and money spent in this de-cluttering project by cluttering the pavements with four Communication Hubs."

Despite these concerns, The Richmond Society has decided that the benefits outweigh the potential harm.

It said: "The benefits of having speedy public access to a defibrillator are well known and, at the urging of some members, the Society has explored over several years how this might be achieved in Richmond.

"The Society is opposed to unnecessary clutter on footpaths and there is no doubt that these hubs are large and obtrusive. However, the Council has already consented to four JCD hubs in Twickenham and, after much deliberation, the Society's Executive Committee concluded that 24/7 public access to defibrillators, plus the other community benefits offered by the hubs, creates an exceptional situation."

A number of Richmond residents have lodged objections. These include Paul Velluet, who is a former member of the Society's Executive Committee and argued the against the Hubs on the grounds of their 'unjustified and potentially harmful impact'. Another businesse owner in central Richmond described them as an 'eyesore'.

JC Decaux said: "The Communication Hub is a new product that aims to reinvent the role and purpose of publicly accessible communication infrastructure.

"The Hub unit offers a greater level of accessibility than solely voice calls and provides the opportunity for people to stay connected when out of home.

"The Hub provides the means for people to interact with their local authorities and other public bodies, which is easy to use across a range of platforms.

"The Hub unit is designed to be a freely accessible service that includes Wi-Fi, phone calls, wayfinding, device charging, emergency service call button, defibrillator and other functions combined into a single piece of furniture.

"As with any 'free to use' public service provision there is the potential for misuse and the Company has attempted to ensure that through design and managed use that the Hub unit assists in reducing crime, the fear of crime and the potential for anti-social behaviour."