Agenda item

Purpose: To highlight the Motion made at Full Council on 3 March 2020, advise of associated issues and make recommendations as to whether the Motion should be implemented.

Resolved that:

(a)       the Motion to designate all current and future electric vehicle charging points as ‘EV only’ parking spaces is not taken forward at this time in respect of on-street locations.

(b)       an Experimental Traffic Regulation Order (ETRO) should be implemented at a trial site where an on-street chargepoint has been more frequently used. The exact terms of the restriction will need to be discussed informally with Members prior to making the Order, as will the implications of the proposed order for the appearance, size and number of additional signs that are required. The success, or otherwise of this ETRO will inform future decisions as to when, where and how to roll out EV-only parking bays more widely.

(c)       unless local circumstances dictate otherwise, all chargepoints in public car parks operated by West Berkshire Council will have their own designated and enforceable parking bay.

This decision is eligible to be ‘called-in’.  However, if the decision has not been ‘called-in’ by 5.00pm on 24 July 2020, then it will be implemented.

The Executive considered a report (Agenda Item 7) which set out a response to a Motion submitted to Full Council at the 3 March 2020 meeting by Councillor Carolyne Culver. The Motion invited the Council to “designate all current and future electric vehicle charging points that are provided by West Berkshire Council as ‘EV only’ parking spaces.”

The report highlighted the associated issues and made recommendations as to whether the Motion should be implemented.

Councillor Richard Somner in introducing the report gave thanks to Councillor Culver for submitting the Motion and for attending the Transport Advisory Group (TAG) held in April 2020 to discuss the matter. It was recognised that the need for electric vehicle charging points would become more relevant over time with the number of electric vehicles on the road increasing.

However, the implementation of the Motion was unfortunately not straight forward as detailed within the report.

Councillor Somner felt that the proposed recommendations struck the right balance between encouraging people to switch to electric vehicles and making provision for those that had already or intended to purchase an electric vehicle, alongside retaining car parking spaces for those residents who were not ready or able to make this switch. Councillor Somner raised the importance of looking at ways to enable more residents who wished to participate in using or procuring an electric vehicle, and relevant parties would be engaged with to help address that where possible.

Councillor Somner went on to explain that the location of existing charging points was under review.

Councillor Somner concluded his introduction by advising that a trial would be run on a test site and he looked forward to working with officers and Ward Members as part of that process.

Councillor Steve Ardagh-Walter supported the report and its recommendations. The use of electric vehicles was expected to increase quite significantly in the years to come and it was important to encourage residents to purchase electric vehicles and for the benefits of so doing to be promoted. However, he agreed that this needed to be balanced with the need to be considerate to residents who still needed standard on-street parking. Councillor Ardagh-Walter therefore felt the transitionary approach described in the report to be wholly appropriate.

Councillor Somner added that the current affordability of electric vehicles was a factor to be mindful of.

Councillor Adrian Abbs was supportive of the aims of the Motion as there was a need for accessible charging points for vehicles. He was disappointed with the recommendation to not take the Motion forward at this time and felt that the Council should be taking a bolder approach beyond a single test site. Councillor Abbs felt that charging points should be reserved, particularly during the evenings, to encourage people to make use of them and give them an incentive to make the change to an electric vehicle. Councillor Abbs raised a concern that the wrong type of charging points had been installed.

Councillor Somner clarified that the points raised in the Motion had been discussed on many occasions. Consideration had been given as to whether the Motion could be fully and successfully implemented. The points made in the Motion were being taken on board, but it was important to introduce electric vehicle charging points in a controlled manner.

In terms of awareness raising of parking space availability for electric vehicles, Councillor Somner advised that information was available via the Council website.

Councillor Somner stated that he was happy to hold a discussion offline on the charging point equipment with Councillor Abbs.

Councillor Culver gave thanks for the report and the work undertaken, and for the invitation to attend the TAG to discuss the Motion. A particular point discussed at TAG was the potential to move some charging points to quieter roads. Argyle Street and a road adjoining Craven Road were given as examples. Councillor Culver felt it would be useful to re-examine locations.

Councillor Somner confirmed that the process of reviewing the location of charging points had begun. It was his understanding that it was relatively straight forward to relocate charging points. He would keep Members informed of progress.

Councillor Culver next queried the consultation process for Traffic Regulation Orders (TROs) and whether this would involve parish and town councils.

Councillor Somner’s expectation was that the consultation process would be detailed and would include residents, Ward Members and parish/town councils. He would however seek clarification on this point outside of the meeting and would advise on that separately.

Councillor Somner took the opportunity to add that he was proud of the Council’s reaction on receiving Government funding to implement charging points. As explained, minor fine tuning would follow.

Councillor Culver restated her thanks to officers for their work on this report and agreed it was appropriate for officers to form a view on the Motion. However, from a procedural viewpoint, she felt it would have preferable to hold a wider Council debate on a Council Motion.

In response to this point, Councillor Lynne Doherty clarified that as the Council operated under the Executive/Cabinet Model, the governance rules were clear that this report was right to be presented to the Executive rather than Council.

RESOLVED that:

(a)       the Motion to designate all current and future electric vehicle charging points as ‘EV only’ parking spaces not be taken forward at this time in respect of on-street locations.

(b)       an Experimental Traffic Regulation Order (ETRO) be implemented at a trial site where an on-street chargepoint has been more frequently used. The exact terms of the restriction be discussed informally with Members prior to making the Order including the implications of the proposed order in terms of the appearance, size and number of additional signs that are required. The success, or otherwise of this ETRO to inform future decision as to when, where and how to roll out EV-only parking bays more widely.

(c)       unless local circumstances dictate otherwise, all chargepoints in public car parks operated by West Berkshire Council to have their own designated and enforceable parking bay.

Reason for the decision: To provide a response to the Motion.

Other options considered:

·                    The Motion could be implemented in its entirety, but in view of the practical considerations detailed in this report, this is not recommended.

·                    The Motion could be rejected completely, but in view of the need to continue to encourage electric vehicle ownership and the likely rise in the numbers of electric vehicles in the District, there will come a point where some form of designated on-highway parking is required. This would also be at odds with the current approach to chargepoints in public car parks.