Agenda item

LBB RESIDENTIAL EV CHARGING PILOT

Minutes:

ES20166

 

The report outlined plans for the EV Charging Pilot which would last for one year and which would include 45 charging points and 14 gullies installed across 12 wards. During this period, several different charging solutions would be tested. The results of the pilot would assist in determining how the roll out of electric vehicle charging points would take place going forward. A discussion took place concerning the selection criteria for the pilot scheme. A Member asked if the Chislehurst Ward could be included in the pilot going forward and the Carbon Programme Manager said he would investigate if this was possible.

 

A discussion took place as to why (as detailed in Fig 1 of the report) in some cases the ‘secondary utilisation’ was greater than the number of chargepoints and if the Council would be affected by staffing constraints. Members noted that two of the options under consideration would be part supplier funded (25%) and part funded by ORCS (On Street Residential Chargepoint Scheme—75%). Other operators would be 100% supplier funded; it had not been determined yet which option would be pursued. The Committee discussed how the installation of gullies and charging points could affect access to scarce parking spaces. 

 

The Chairman asked how many off street charging points existed in the borough—he was informed that this data had been requested prior to the meeting but had not been made available yet.

 

Members discussed legal matters relating to the user agreement and what the consequences would be for noncompliance. It was noted that interested parties would be asked to sign and comply with a user agreement, but this would be an informal agreement in the sense that it would not be legally binding.

 

The Chairman enquired about time scales moving forward. Members were informed that the installation of the pilot electric charging points was anticipated to commence in Autumn 2022. Results would then be analysed from winter 2023 onwards and it was intended that a follow up report on the results of the pilot would come back to the Committee in the Spring of 2024. The Chairman commented that this was quite a long time to wait and it may be the case in the future that LBB should move forward (even without the full data) with the project if the demand from the public was high. This could help residents with the cost of living if fuel costs were high. Of course, before moving forward the matter would be brought back to Committee first for scrutiny. 

 

A Member highlighted that there could be cases where members of the public applied for the installation of an EV charging point simply to get a designated parking bay and he wondered if they should be charged for that parking bay. The Committee was briefed that  the EV charging points would not be individual bays and this would be made clear on the user agreement.

 

A Member and the Chairman expressed the view that the installation and de-commissioning costs were high. The issue of security was raised in that there could be attempts to steal cabling. In this regard the customer would need to bear the risk.

 

RESOLVED that:

 

1) The Residential EV Charging Pilot Scheme should proceed.

 

2) The Portfolio Holder would delegate authority to the Assistant Director of Legal Services to sign all ancillary documentation required for the progression of the pilot scheme. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Supporting documents: