What would it take to persuade BT/Openreach to beautify their building? It’s not friendly of them to display their couldn’t care less attitude to our neighbourhood with this derelict frontage.
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I’ve actually tried. My lobbying resulted in the clearance of all the weeds growing there last year, but I also asked about the graffiti and nothing was done.
I’m seriously wondering if this building is soon to be surplus to requirements and therefore put up for sale / development, so they don’t want or care to spend anything on it.
It might also explain the delay in developing the Coop land next door, if they hoped to extend the site. (this is speculation)
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I get the impression it’s not affecting them, so they really don’t care less. From time to time they seem to clean it all. Even a chain link fence a foot from the building would make it harder to tag and vandalise.
I’m not sure the building is going anywhere soon, as it’s still essential infrastructure from what I understand. But if it’s going to stick around, I hope something can be done to make it look a bit better.
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Yes, it’s still needed for digital infrastructure, but it looks rather sad. Those weeds did/do look a little unsightly, but there were a few interesting wild species among them when I looked at the last year. I wonder if a few low-maintenance planters might make it look a little better?
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I have tried to raise this to Openreach via their damage team this morning, but they weren’t having any of it - so I’ve raised a formal complaint to see if that goes anywhere.
That being said, I believe BT Openreach sold the buildings to Telereal Trillium and lease them back - so it’s might not, technically, be their responsibility
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Yes, that is something I have been considering along with the Forest Hill Society. We have a plan for the station we need to finish, but this is another on the list of places that could be made so much more inviting relatively easily.
Some raised beds and maybe a bench or two would be quite nice to have
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Wow, that is a moment of serendipity right there, no-one had mentioned Telereal until now and I see they are owned by William Pears, a private group named after the Williams Pear.
As I have been working on a (partly pear related) project called ‘Perry Trail’ which emerges at the top of Westbourne Drive by Leslie Howard Steiner’s childhood home and into Waldram Park Place, I wanted to say something about the telephone exchange.
And now we have this completely unexpected connection to the Williams Pear.
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The council should be able to clean this up if it is reported via love clean streets.
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Wikipedia tells us that the business has a foundation
“to apply some of the resources of their family’s business, the William Pears Group, to fund organisations and projects working to deliver progress on key issues affecting the wellbeing of people in the UK and all over the world”
Perhaps we can ask for them to ‘give back’ to Forest Hill for our wellbeing
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Yes, that is a lovely thought.
BT sold the Exchange estate off to Telereal, a joint venture by Land Securities Trillium and William Pears Group in 2001 (as said by another poster).
It seems BT has leased the Exchanges since then.
In recent years BT has completed a UK-wide pilot scheme whereby 3 Exhanges have been decommisioned so far in advance of a wholesale nation-wide scheme.
It can be anticipated BT will prepare further lists of Exchanges as each one presumably becomes no longer required to manage local copper and aluminium circuits.
Whilst I believe the conversions to digital within this exchange are complete I have not seen any published source that provides any update on the Forest Hill Exchange status.
”BT and Openreach aim to shut some 4,600 exchanges, retaining just 1,000 fiber sites. After first announcing plans in 2020, the first of three trial sites has closed, with the other two due to follow soon. Around 105 are due to close between 2028 and 2031, with the rest closing over the course of the early 2030s.”
It could be guessed that as a building, its condition might no longer be a priority for BT or the building owners
Indeed, and there are no suits working there expecting a pleasant workplace environment.
If we are certain that Pears owns the building, then I would be happy to write to their charitable foundation - which to its credit does seem to have a generous community-minded ethos.
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Well it’s worth a try - I wonder if anyone else fancies having a go? I put it under cleansing rather than graffiti as I’d not seen that category before and only realised once I’d submitted.
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To be fair, it makes a very recognisable backdrop for Instagram 
Alasdair Beckett-King is local
Lovely - I’ve actually seen someone who looks like Alasdair walking around the neighbourhood, and thought how uncannily alike him this person looks. I now wonder if they are one and the same!
I’ve seen him a few times, and it is definitely him - hard to miss 
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Looks like it’s on private property though
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We have written (again) to those who are responsible for the building, which (according to the email footer) is:
CBRE | GWS | Workplace Team, providing services for BT
Unfortunately, their response was:
Good Afternoon,
I have been informed that with regards to the above reference we are waiting for BT approval for funding.
No works will take place until we have this.
Obviously this is unsatisfactory as it simply means no-one will do anything (as we’ve been waiting for years for this)
I have therefore replied, asking to be put in touch with the right people at BT in order to push to get this budget. I am not hopeful, but you never know.
If anyone else wants to send emails, here is the reference they provided (in Sept 2025):
In reference to the graffiti. This is a matter we are aware of and a request is already on our system under R3568625.
I may soon need to enlist the help of Perry Vale councillors to make this a bit more ‘official’
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For those social media adepts, sometimes corporates can be publicly shamed into taking action.
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