IT used to be the place where friends and family could keep in touch but now a historical box in Hartford is looking for a new calling in life.

The old-style red phone box in the village, next to the Post Office on Hodge Lane, has new owners after Hartford Parish Council purchased it for just £1 from BT.

BT launched a scheme called ‘Adopt a Kiosk’ in September 2008 which they hoped would secure the presence of the much-loved boxes in villages across the country.

And with the old-style boxes developing a near cult following across the country, Hartford Parish Council is now thinking of what to do with it.

Some of the uses of the phone boxes in the UK have included turning them into mini-bars, a greenhouse, a cash machine, a tourist information point and even as a ‘peaceful zone’ by piping soft music into them for stressed-out locals to enjoy.

Jo O’Donoghue, parish clerk for Hartford Parish Council, said BT had removed the telephone equipment and the box was being kept as a heritage statement for the village.

“I can’t say what will happen in the future although the parish council will move it but there are implications as it may fall apart when moved,” she said.

“Other villages have used theirs as an information point but the main concern is that we have kept a a cultural part of the village for the future.”

l Have you got any ideas for the post box that you would like to share with Guardian readers? If so, let us know by emailing reporter James Wilson at james.wilson@guardiangrp.co.uk or writing to him at 3 Theatre Court, London Road, Northwich, CW9 5HB.

What do you think should be planned for the phone box? Let us know at northwichguardian.co.uk/forum.