Agenda item

The Chairman introduced the item highlighting that the Committee were required to piece together their final conclusions and findings from the Electric Vehicle Infrastructure review in the form of recommendations to Cabinet that could be included in the Select Committee’s final review report; a draft of which would come to the Committee’s following meeting in February 2022. A set of draft recommendations, broken down into short, medium, and long-term recommendations, were tabled for the Committee to comment upon.

Short-term draft recommendations included:

1)    That Cabinet seek to increase the transparency of information available on the Council’s website relating to EV charging infrastructure projects and installations to residents.

2)    That Cabinet seek to improve levels of engagement with residents through a mechanism to express their interest in local EV charging provision.

3)    That Cabinet note the objectives of the Council’s Strategic Climate Action Plan, with reference to sustainable transportation and the development of an EV charging action plan that will commit to increasing the availability of EV charge points across the Borough.

4)    That a report be prepared for the relevant Select Committee on an annual basis regarding the implementation of the new contract and EV Infrastructure across the Borough as it progresses.

Members were generally encouraged by the proposed short-term recommendations, specifically highlighting the emphasis on resident engagement, which had manifested as a key priority for the Committee throughout the review. The Select Committee were minded to amend recommendation 4 to include reference to monitoring the usage data of charge points and potentially having this information come back to the Committee.

Medium-term draft recommendations included:

5)    That Cabinet consider the merits of a more proactive enforcement effort to ensure developers make available suitable EV charging provision in their developments to fulfil their planning obligations.

6)    That Cabinet explore the viability of a policy to ensure equitable use of on-street residential charge points and incorporate EV considerations into the design of future Parking Management Schemes, in advance of any future decision on the feasibility of introducing on-street EV charging points.

7)    In support of the Strategic Climate Action Plan, that Cabinet endorses plans to replace all diesel-powered vehicles 3.5T and smaller within the Council’s fleet with Electric Vehicles before 2030.

The Committee sought to clarify the grouping of recommendations into short, medium, and long-term. It was noted that the timings were relatively vague but intended to offer room for the recommendations to be implemented when best appropriate; although it was highlighted that the Committee would seek to have the short-term recommendations implemented as soon as feasibly possible.

Longer-term draft recommendations included:

8)    That Cabinet concurs with the Committee’s findings that, whilst the Council is not responsible at this time for directly providing EV infrastructure or the necessary utilities that support it, with such a societal paradigm shift, the Council should play a leading ‘enabling’ role to ensure that the Borough is well prepared for the growing EV demand and the resultant technological, infrastructure and behavioural changes arising.

9)    That Cabinet considers the Select Committee’s long-term horizon findings from its review and the variables it has identified in how current and emerging EV technology and infrastructure may develop and change over time. This is so the Council can be both adaptive and responsive to future requirements and its residents.

Members commented on the evolving nature of the EV infrastructure sector and highlighted that the Council should work cooperatively with prospective public EV charge point providers such as supermarkets, retail parks and petrol stations to facilitate the required increase in charge point provision. It was suggested that recommendation 8 could be amended to include reference to this.

The Committee highlighted that at their previous meeting, it was mentioned that the Council’s Vehicle Crossover Policy may require updating to accommodate home charging for some residents. Two petitions had been received during 2021 requesting the policy be amended and it was noted that Highways officers were working on a review of the policy. As part of that review, the Cabinet Member would meet with the petitioners in a formal petition hearing. Members discussed whether to include reference to amending the policy in their final recommendations and concluded that they would not.

Members felt that, as a whole, the drafted recommendations appropriately represented the Committee’s conclusions and, with the amendments suggested, they were endorsed to be taken forward into the Committee’s draft final report.

RESOLVED That the Committee commented on and suggested potential recommendations to be included within the final draft report to be presented at the following meeting.