New and hopefully more reliable electric vehicle charging points will be rolled out across the Island later this year.
The Isle of Wight Council’s cabinet unanimously agreed the move on Thursday after an increasing number of complaints had been received about the current charging points.
Issues have been found in electric vehicle charging points installed in council car parks and the authority said they were ‘becoming increasingly unreliable’.
The council does not own the charging points but has received requests to improve the facilities from Islanders and visitors.
Councillor Phil Jordan, cabinet member for infrastructure and transport, said leasing the new charging points under the wider Hampshire scheme is the cheapest option for the council as it would provide a return but for no investment.
Cabinet papers suggest the council could make £6,500 from the chargers a year when they are being used fully.
Cllr Jordan said the Island is playing catch-up, as Hampshire introduced the Central Southern Region framework scheme for electric vehicle chargers in 2018.
With the end of carbon vehicles in sight, Cllr Jordan said the Island needed to do this and visitors to the Island, with electric vehicles, were expecting the public facilities to be available to charge their vehicles.
It is also hoped installing new, and more, charging points will encourage people to buy electric vehicles.
The rollout of the 15 new charges, in 9 locations, will provide 27 sockets in car parks but there is the possibility to add more if the demand is there.
It is the second phase of electric vehicle charging points installed by the Isle of Wight Council, as 10 on-road charging points put in place last year.
It is thought the new chargers could be in place and operational by the summer. They will be installed in the following car parks:
- Chapel Street, Newport
- Sea Street, Newport
- Seaclose Park
- Quay Road, Ryde
- St Thomas Street (upper), Ryde
- St John’s Road, Sandown
- Cross Street, Cowes
- Central Car Park, Ventnor
- Moa Place, Freshwater
I’ll believe it when I see it!
if you can afford electric car then you can afford to charge it
So, no new additional charge points then? Just replacing already unreliable ones. A total of 27 across the entire Island? Pathetic. Just like IOW council,
What are the parking charges while your charging the car ?
So the poorest paying council tax again pay for the rich to fuel there expensive cars. Lifes so unfair under this middle class council, iwc have many electric cars and vans,but I have to pay high taxes and council tax so they can have and I can’t then afford myself to go green.
Visitors might be able to afford electric cars, but i wonder how many island people can afford an electric car?
5%, 10%?