1 week Ago
From the start of this year, people in Oxfordshire who don’t have a private off-road parking space will be able to apply to the county council for an EV Cable Channel, so they can charge their electric vehicles. The cables will be installed in the pavement so that the charging cable can be safely connected between a home EV charger and an EV parked at the kerbside. The county council says the scheme has been delayed due to a “technical issue regarding earthing”, as well as an issue raised during the procurement process.
In a most recent update, the authority said the scheme would be delayed by 12-14 weeks overall, meaning the council would take applications from July at the latest. Councillor Susanna Pressel, who represents the Jericho and Osney division, said: “Many people in my division are very keen to buy an EV, and some have already bought one on the strength of this promise, perhaps because they couldn’t make their current car last any longer. “There was an original pilot scheme about five years ago, which was a great success.
“Ever since then I have been asking when a larger scheme was going to be rolled out. “There are so many properties in my division with no off-street parking. It’s extremely disappointing that we are still waiting for it to start.
” She submitted a written question about the hold-up to the scheme in a recent county council meeting. In the meeting itself, she added: “This process so far has been ridiculously slow. “We’re only getting, as a result of this torturous process, 500 cross-channel chargers.
“500 is not even enough for my division alone – we need far more than that. “What lessons are being learned from this very poor process, and how are we going to get more on-street chargers?” Pete Sudbury, deputy leader of the council with responsibility for climate change, environment and future generations, responded: “The process has taken far too long and has been far to obsessional. “Frankly we’re years late on this and we need to get it going.
” The scheme is being funded by a £698,000 government grant as part of the Local Electric Vehicle Infrastructure (LEVI) Pilot scheme. A county council spokesperson said: “In the pilot, the resident will still have to fund the application fee (which includes a site survey and the first year’s licence to use the channel) and the installation of a home EV charger. “After this they will have to pay an annual fee to use the channel to cover the operating costs.
“The only way to install an EV cable channel in Oxfordshire is to apply to Oxfordshire County Council, which manages the highways. “People cannot install one themselves or have it privately arranged. “In addition to the roll-out of EV charging cable gullies, we will also be looking to triple electric vehicle charging provision in the county by the end of this year, including providing a minimum of 100 chargers to homes in Oxford without off-street parking.
” Plans to build a drive-through EV charging station on the junction of the A40 and B4449 near Eynsham were recently rejected by ..
