Locations sought for electric charge points by Canterbury City Council

Canterbury City Council is asking residents for suggestions of potential locations for on-street electric vehicle charging points in the district, as it prepares a bid for £30,000 of government funding.

The council is proposing to commit £10,000 of its own money to the project in order to secure the cash. A total of £40,000 could fund up to 10 charging points for the district, with two cars able to be charged from each point.

However, it needs to provide evidence as part of the bid that there is a demand from the public for the service.

Locations that will be considered are those where there is no off-street parking available to allow people to charge from their own property. The pavement must not be too narrow, as the charging points are located on the pavement and cannot block access for pedestrians.

Other factors that will need to be taken into account include power supply issues and the likelihood of approval from Kent County Council as the highways authority.

Chairman of the council’s Regeneration and Property Committee, Cllr Ben Fitter-Harding, said: “The situation with electric vehicles is classic chicken and egg. People may not be buying these vehicles due to a lack of charging points, but would providing this equipment encourage people to buy them? Or is the interest just not there yet? We simply don’t know, and that’s why we’re asking.

“There are many things to think about. We will have to lose ordinary parking in order to create the charging bays. Would people accept that? We also need to consider how it works in residents’ permits areas. If people are paying to park near their homes, a reduction in bays could make it harder for them to park.

“And yet, electric vehicles are undoubtedly the future and we need to find ways to make it work. We hope to get lots of feedback, which will be very helpful in putting this funding bid together.”

The council already provides electric vehicle charging points at its three park and ride sites and its offices in Military Road, and has plans to expand these across many more of its off-street car parks. It also wants to work with private car park owners to provide points.

To suggest a location for on-street charging points, email [email protected] or comment on the council’s Facebook or Twitter pages by Friday 22 December.