[Newboldi]

Hi all,

I'm a new member here, so first post please be gentle!

I am lobbying the government to agree a workable domestic street-parking EV charging system matters in terms of meaningful climate action AND hitting the Government's own 2030 EV target. There are many UK households (like ours) that don't have off-street parking. As it stands, proper charging points generally can't / won't be installed by charge-point suppliers because the Dept for Transport (DfT) and local authorities (LA) inc. my local council (Leeds City Council (LCC)) won't allow access to the installation grants or explicit permissions to put one in. It seems you can legally charge a full EV from a domestic point, but it is much, much slower, taking hours/days - impractical and unworkable at scale, putting most people off. Opening up national grants and permissions would enable more trials of the various options and country-wide roll out at scale.

I have created a petition to get this discussed in parliament and have the support of my local MP, many councilors, etc. however, the current count (31/03) is 84 - rubbish! I need likeminded people to sign and share in order to hopefully make this happen. Thanks in anticipation...

Extend Electric Vehicle (EV) charging grants to those without off-street parking - Petitions (parliament.uk)

 

[cah197]

Have you had a look at companies like Ubitricity?

 

[dk6780]

Good luck with your petition. What exactly is your proposed solution? The OLEV/OZEV home charge grant is widely considered to be ineffective on this forum in doing anything other than increasing the prices to the consumer, and you need to consider the needs of other street users such as pedestrians etc. who may not mix well with a sudden increase in the quantity of street furniture and trailing cables. The model of centralised charging hubs (similar to petrol filling stations) may be a more appropriate model once there is sufficient demand to justify their wider rollout.

 

[Newboldi]

Have you had a look at companies like Ubitricity?

Already looked at several solutions inc. Ubertricity, Mole Group and others. The problem is both the local authorities dragging their heals and not approving them to run trials and the fact that none of these attract the grants that people with off-road charging get. In addition to the number of innovative solutions out there, there is also the simple approval of a cable cover. Hampshire approve this but Leeds will not for example - without this approval the fast charging installers will not install for you for fear of issues with the local authority. I have been at this for over 4 years with limited success...

 

[dk6780]

I can only admire your tenacity. Have you had any communication with Grant Shapps?

 

[Newboldi]

Good luck with your petition. What exactly is your proposed solution? The OLEV/OZEV home charge grant is widely considered to be ineffective on this forum in doing anything other than increasing the prices to the consumer, and you need to consider the needs of other street users such as pedestrians etc. who may not mix well with a sudden increase in the quantity of street furniture and trailing cables. The model of centralised charging hubs (similar to petrol filling stations) may be a more appropriate model once there is sufficient demand to justify their wider rollout.

Thanks - there needs to be several solutions for a range of different circumstances. The Mole Group solution is a channel under the path and a charger in your front garden. This of course would not work for people without a front garden. The Ubitricity solution converts existing lamposts to be charging points, this only works if the lamposts are on the roadside of the kerb and not the other side - and so it goes on. There are too many people seeing this to a barrier to EV ownership to be ignored. For info. I agree with the idea of centralised hubs as ranges get better, charging becomes faster, etc. but I personally feel that this is a way off...??? Cheers!

 

[cah197]

The Ubitricity solution converts existing lamposts to be charging points, this only works if the lamposts are on the roadside of the kerb and not the other side - and so it goes on.

They also have a solution where they install a 'charging bollard' where the lamp post is not usable.

I've used this in Portsmouth and it works quite well.

As you say, it depends on how co-operative the local authority is.

 

[dk6780]

Given the move to pedestrianise streets by adding pinchpoints, closing off the ends of rat-runs etc. these protrusions into the roads could accommodate "charging bollards" without a net reduction in space for pedestrians. But given the proliferation of cars and the practices of sub-dividing houses into flats, having houses of multiple occupation etc. which is further increasing the amount of vehicles there is a finite space in urban areas. Whilst Prescott's ending of the requirement to include car parking in new developments had some green kudos I still view it as a cynical nod to developers that has resulted in even less off-street parking in urban areas.

 

[Newboldi]

I can only admire your tenacity. Have you had any communication with Grant Shapps?

Not directly no...would LOVE a chat!

 

[Rooster-x]

Try Charge My Street, they have secured funding using Government grants, might be able to help you;

chargemystreet.co.uk | EV charge point community benefit society

www.chargemystreet.co.uk

 

[Newboldi]

Try Charge My Street, they have secured funding using Government grants, might be able to help you;

chargemystreet.co.uk | EV charge point community benefit society

www.chargemystreet.co.uk

Good tip...thanks. I have now mailed them...

 

[TomBarker]

Good tip...thanks. I have now mailed them...

Hello! Tom from Charge My Street here, thank you for getting in touch with us.

We're aiming to make sure those in terraced housing (Or no access to a driveway) are no more than a 5-minute walk away from a community funded chargepoint.

If you know of a: Pub, Village Hall, Community Centre, Gym, B&B, Hotel, Public Car Park with public access at least overnight, please let us know by suggesting a site on our website: Host a Site | chargemystreet.co.uk

Local knowledge is key!

Tom

 

[TomBarker]

Try Charge My Street, they have secured funding using Government grants, might be able to help you;

chargemystreet.co.uk | EV charge point community benefit society

www.chargemystreet.co.uk

Thank you for the suggestion!

 

[alegar]

@jaysmith08 what are our options in GM?

I’ll be sending you a proper communications in a few months (fingers crossed) about this for a terraced street in which there’s no driveway (only 1-2 neighbours have done one).

 

[jaysmith08]

@jaysmith08 what are our options in GM?

I’ll be sending you a proper communications in a few months (fingers crossed) about this for a terraced street in which there’s no driveway (only 1-2 neighbours have done one).

All of the reasons and more have been covered above to be honest. The only one that hasn’t been mentioned is the fact that most people don’t have a guaranteed space outside their house. The biggest obstacle to the trial in Oxford were “non-EV” drivers objecting the TRO to have one put in as it caused parking issues. There are a raft of issues. Our general approach will be to put in a small number of on-street where appropriate - mainly for car club opportunities and the rest focussed in localised hubs that can be used while travelling on public transport. We’ll continue to work with the private sector to put in more widespread charging hubs with higher powered chargers.

 

[Newboldi]

All of the reasons and more have been covered above to be honest. The only one that hasn’t been mentioned is the fact that most people don’t have a guaranteed space outside their house. The biggest obstacle to the trial in Oxford were “non-EV” drivers objecting the TRO to have one put in as it caused parking issues. There are a raft of issues. Our general approach will be to put in a small number of on-street where appropriate - mainly for car club opportunities and the rest focussed in localised hubs that can be used while travelling on public transport. We’ll continue to work with the private sector to put in more widespread charging hubs with higher powered chargers.

There are compromises with all solutions - what you describe here doesn’t allow me to benefit from my own energy supply or tariff. For the record, as an EV owner I get fed up with people at my local Aldi parking their diesels in the charging bay - they wouldn’t do it to a disabled bay (actually some probably would!). There is no perfect solution however, it shouldn’t exclude finding something that works for many

 

[jaysmith08]

There are compromises with all solutions - what you describe here doesn’t allow me to benefit from my own energy supply or tariff. For the record, as an EV owner I get fed up with people at my local Aldi parking their diesels in the charging bay - they wouldn’t do it to a disabled bay (actually some probably would!). There is no perfect solution however, it shouldn’t exclude finding something that works for many

Agree 100%. There is a huge financial disparity between those who have off street access and those that don’t. There will also be people who do have off street parking but can’t actually afford to spend the money to put in a charger on top of the cost of a vehicle. Point is, car ownership is going to more and more of a luxury moving forward. From a council and transport authority point of view, don’t be surprised if they don’t agree with your desire to keep a personal car. EV’s are not the answer to managing congestion in major cities and clogging pathways with chargers will have cycling and disability groups up in arms. Supporting bus/tram/train/cycleways will always be a priority and installing chargers in these places fits that system.

 

[alegar]

Hey @jaysmith08 what would you think as this charging approach to avoid pedestrian risks?

 

[dk6780]

Good in principle, but it still obstructs the pavement (even if the car isn't parked on it). I'm also sure that the local "yoof" will enjoy swinging on the sprung arm .....

 

[alegar]

Good in principle, but it still obstructs the pavement (even if the car isn't parked on it). I'm also sure that the local "yoof" will enjoy swinging on the sprung arm .....

I'm not sure i follow when you say it obstructs the pavement:

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