A new charity dedicated to preserving local phone boxes is set to launch in Richmond borough.

Box Walks, which buys and leases telephone boxes across the borough, will officially commence operations on June 13. 

The organisation aims to restore the iconic red structures of the London-based boxes, which for so long have been totems of British culture, to their former glory, whilst repurposing them for the 21st century. 

The charity has launched a free app, also called Box Walks, where people can compete against each other to visit as many boxes as possible whilst learning about conservation and the local area in the process. 

Co-founder Emma Howcroft, who has a background in corporate sustainability, was inspired to start the project, against stiff initial opposition, after seeing how neglected such structures had become in the capital. 

She said: "About three years ago, I kept seeing phone boxes in London looking pretty sad and destroyed and thought 'that's terrible.' 

"I asked my friend, who is a software engineer, if we could create an app to try and save them, and when I initially floated the idea to him, he didn't think anyone would want to walk to a phone box. 

"But then, I thought what if we can put really engaging content in this, so we gamify the walks?" She added: "Then we were on holiday in Paris last year and he said to me, 'I think you're onto something here. Let's do it."' 

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For Howcroft, the project has three main aims - to encourage environmental awareness, encourage people to get fit, and help people make friends - and she identified accessibility as a key part of achieving these goals. 

She said: "The whole purpose of it is to be highly accessible. 

"Pretty much all of it is given for free, you can download the app for free, you can take part in the walks for free as well." 

Accessibility isn't the only weapon in the project's arsenal, however, with Howcroft designing the scheme to appeal to a wide array of interests in an effort to win over the public. 

She said: "I thought, 'how can we keep adding layers on so it's interesting and engaging for everyone?' 

"Historical people will come at it from 'I just want to see the phone boxes and collect the phone boxes', people that just like walking or meeting people or want something fun to do in London can do the walks, and people who are more eco-conscious can say 'oh, well, I can take part in environmental games that help my footprint.'" 

Although Box Walks scope is currently limited to Richmond, the charity has plans for the future. According to Howcroft, the next step is to expand into Central London and then nationally, and it is even hoped the initiative can one day become a tourist attraction. 

She said: "What I would like to do is put London on the map. "We've started conversations with the Mayor's office to say that once we have these walks, hopefully tourists will be able to come around and take part in the games and visit all these wonderful locations around central London, while learning about macro level problems and figuring out how they can do something about it in the home." 

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"The nice thing is tourists can take passing walks, unlock content on the app because each phone box unlocks a different theme, and then they can, say, go to America, go to China, wherever it is, and they can do these things at home."

As grand as the charity's plans are, however, there is one major problem it cannot solve, namely a lack of information about who actually owns individual boxes. 

According to Howcroft, a national register of owners is needed in order to safeguard structures outside Box Walks' reach from further damage. 

She said: "A lot of phone boxes have been sold to people and no one knows who they've been sold to, there isn't a registry. "That's part of the reason why a lot of them are falling into disrepair."