Electric Charging Points in Eynsford

Eynsford Green Team - Electric Cars and Electric Public Charging Points

Electric Cars would appear to be the future…..

The Government has made a commitment to achieve net zero emissions by 2050. Road transport is responsible for about one fifth of emissions and the Government are therefore encouraging the transition to electric vehicles. From 2030 it will not be possible to buy a brand new petrol car.

The village survey we carried out about the environmental challenges last year highlighted 45% of respondents said they do or plan to have an electric car within the next 5 years. Of those 45%, 20% said they are unable to charge their car at their home.

The ownership of electric cars will increase over the coming years and charging points will be needed in the village for those residents with no off-street parking.

What have Eynsford Green Team been doing in response to the need for a village charging point?

In light of the above we investigated the possibility of a community electric charging point.

Kent County Council is offering financial support to parish councils to install charging points in their villages on community land for those residents that cannot access off-road parking and charging. We looked into various locations, including the village car park which is owned by Sevenoaks District Council. SDC refused our request for a community charging point stating that "use would be minimal and could result in the space remaining empty for substantial periods of time".

It would be interesting to know what residents think, are you local to the car park, have or want an electric car and would use the charging point? Or do you agree that the spaces should be saved for residents and visitors with petrol cars only? It may be that we can campaign on this if enough residents come forward stating they would use the charging point. Let us know your thoughts.

We also looked into the Parish Office car park currently leased to the Scout Association however due to the Scouts concerns over safeguarding issues this is not an option.

The new village hall site does have plans for electric charging points but this will be a few years away.

Other possible locations

There might be other village locations that may be suitable for a charging point. Whilst these are not local authority land and would not qualify for the current grant, there may be alternative options and schemes for such charging points. We have been in contact with Darenth Valley Community Rail Partnership who work closely with Southeastern and Network Rail, and they are looking into installing one or more charging points at Eynsford station.

We are also looking to local businesses and whether they would be willing to have a charging point. Do you have a business in the village with room for a charging point? If this is something you may consider please do get in touch with us.

Other Government Schemes

The Government is also providing funding to local authorities for installing on-street charging points in residential areas. We haven't yet explored this with Sevenoaks DC as we were hoping to apply for the grant detailed above but this is something we will start looking into.

Community Electric Charging

One idea is for residents to share charging points on their driveway. There are services that enable people with home charging points to share their charger with the public, for example, www.co-charger.com.

Emerging technology

Technology is rapidly changing for charging points. Charging points can be now found in lamp posts around London, customers purchase a smart cable that connects to the lamp posts. Perhaps the village lamp posts could be utilised in this way.

There are also kerbside charging points being developed by a company called Connected Kerb and Urban Electric are working on charging points sunken into the ground when not in use. With space at a premium in many towns and villages and the need to keep pavements free of clutter, these could be brilliant solutions.

Map of electric charging points

The zap map is very useful to find your local charging point. It would appear from the map that Brands Hatch Hotel and Otford Village hall car park are our nearest public charging points.

www.zap-map.com

The link below is for a map showing the density of public electric charging devices by each local authority. Sevenoaks DC is within the second to lowest category within the country.

www.maps.dft.gov.uk/ev-charging-map/index.html

Summary

The Eynsford Green Team have been working hard trying to find a location for community charging points however space is at a premium and there is no easy solution. We will continue to look for solutions with the aim to help those residents who don't have an off-street charging option.

Do let us know your views on the above, at info@eynsfordparishcouncil.org.uk.

Photo by Michael Fousert on Unsplash