Agenda item

ES20343

The Chairman expressed concern over the time that it took to charge vehicles,  and the cost involved. He hoped that there was scope to upgrade in the future and that the cost from the provider could be reduced. The LBB Transport Planner explained that this particular product was for residential charging which was done slowly and mainly overnight which was good for the vehicle and the batteries.

Members discussed the user agreement and maintenance going forward. It was hoped that the gully would be considered as an asset in the property. Members discussed the provision of the service for Motability users and the Transport Planner explained that issues around usage by Motability users had not yet been decided. It was asked if a gully could be shared and the general view was that this should be possible. At the time of the meeting, a start date for implementation had not yet been decided. It was noted that the power supply would be supplied in the usual way from the customer’s normal household electricity supply. In terms of general maintenance of the gully itself, (cleaning, clearing etc) that would be down to the resident. The provider(s) would provide their own warranty period for the unit itself. The Council would still have a responsibility for the footway in general so would be expected to re-install the unit in the event of footway works. A Member asked if all the street electric charging points would be situated on pavements.  The Transport Planner said that this was not the case, as different locations may mean build outs.

A question was raised as to why three of the Carbon Reduction Team members had left. It was explained that one member of the team  had joined Odeon in a senior role, one was a graduate trainee who had moved on to another position and another was a junior member who had been promoted internally within the Council.

It was asked if  the Council would possibly get left behind in terms of progressive technology. It was commented that the technology side of things had currently settled down. The Portfolio Holder for Transport, Highways and Road Safety recommended that the Council should proceed with caution. It would be interesting to observe how Connected Kerb responded to technology changes. The equipment would need to be future proof; the Council would not want issues arising from out of date street furniture. The committee supported the recommendations as outlined in the report.

RESOLVED that the Portfolio Holder for Transport, Highways and Road Safety be recommended to:

1) Approve the appointment of Connected Kerb as a supplier of the on street electric vehicle charge points, to be installed in the locations defined in the EV Residential Charging Strategy.

2) Authorise officers to begin the process of rolling out an electric vehicle gully charging project across the Borough as a paid for service, at no cost to the Council.

3) Delegate to the Assistant Director of Legal Services, authority to sign and execute all legal and ancillary documentation arising in connection thereto.

4) Delegate to the Director of Environment and Public Protection, authority to make minor changes to the schemes in response to operational requirements.