Devon town to receive two 'smart hubs'

Tiverton is set to get two Pulse Smart Hubs

Tiverton town centre is to get two ‘smart hubs’, pieces of street furniture that display adverts but also allow people to make calls from them and even access a defibrillator.

The hubs are created by a firm called Pulse, which launched the products in Belfast in 2019.

The hubs, which are 2.5 metres high and around 1.3 metres wide, display moving adverts and local information, as well as providing public wi-fi, free phone calls, phone charging, and emergency health support, including the ability to make 999 calls to offer assistance to help people with the defibrillator. They also offer interactive mapping and monitor air quality.

They will be located in Market Walk and Lowman Green. A third smart hub planned for Becks Square car park won’t go ahead after Devon County Council said the hub could cause issues for motorists.

Mid Devon District Council’s planning committee heard it had received no objections from residents to the hubs for Market Walk and Lowman Green.

The display screens will be turned off between midnight and 6am, but the hubs can still used to make calls and to access the defibrillator 24 hours a day. Some free advertising would be offered to local organisations and charities.

Ollie Smith, a director of Pulse who spoke in favour of the application, said the hubs offered “real benefits to the community”.

“There are 27 hubs in Belfast and 75 more across the UK this year, and we are a proud small British business, certified as a B Corp, and our ethos contrasts with that or large corporates, which is shareholder interest, but we prioritise local need and value,” he said.

Cllr Les Cruwys (Liberal Democrat, Tiverton Cranmore), said Tiverton Town Council had expressed support for the machines.

The planning committee unanimously agreed to approve the two smart hubs.