[Barfly]

See this local paper report. New £10m electric vehicle charging station could bring jobs to Dorset
Light on detail and the website it lists Home | Blandford Hill Green Eco Hubhas more information, it has to be good news for this area.
Cheers Tony.

 

[JonRegler]

Hi, Blandford resident and newly converted EV owner (2 months) here.

Whilst this is great news and a positive step in the right direction I can’t help but wonder why it’s 6 miles from Blandford town centre and in the middle of nowhere.

The A354 isn’t really that busy a road, the A31 is only 4 miles south and is the major E/W road below the A303 and would be far better suited.

There’s a solar farm on the outskirts of Blandford, 500m off the junction of A350/A354, far more traffic and closer to the population…. but as the (proposed) new solar park is connected to the grid is there any reason why the ’eco service station’ can’t be closer to more of the population. Ferndown/Wimborne/Dorchester ?

There is a void of any ‘big name’ charge points in this area but we’ve managed to cover over 11,500 miles in 2 months without any panics on work/home/Tesla/Polar…. and don’t even have a proper EV charge point installed!

 

[Brocky49]

That's good news and could be useful for top-up if returning from Corfe or Swanage.
The locals may need some education though. This is what we were faced with at Morrisons in Blandford last September. Fortunately the CCS cable was long enough to reach round the other side with our EV parked next to the mini.

 

[HandyAndy]

I think that lorry driver needs to be grassed up.

(I'll get me coat & go quietly, promise,...)

 

[JonRegler]

That's good news and could be useful for top-up if returning from Corfe or Swanage.
The locals may need some education though. This is what we were faced with at Morrisons in Blandford last September. Fortunately the CCS cable was long enough to reach round the other side with our EV parked next to the mini.
View attachment 141184

I live close by to this spot and recall seeing that truck when going for a walk with my dog!!

gggrrr!

I'm yet to use this point, besides it being pricey it seems to be out of action a lot.

I think that lorry driver needs to be grassed up.

(I'll get me coat & go quietly, promise,...)

🤣🤣

Joking aside, I live 200m from that charge point and ICE-ing is a regular occurrence, however at £1+30p/kwH I'm unlikely to use this (when it works) as Polar and Tesla are cheaper (15p / 24p).

I can't help thinking that £10m to create 6 part-time jobs isn't something to make a song and dance about.... I'd love to see it in a more useful location.

 

[Cloudbase]

I live in Dorset and drive an EV but I just can't see the need for a charging hub in that location. Maybe its some sort of smokescreen to get another solar 'park' planning approval ?
There are already too many solar panels on prime agricultural land. Only 12% of our planet's surface is capable of growing crops. If we can't grow food for the billions of people who inhabit this planet, on our green and pleasant land, where can we?
Put charging hubs in town centres on main trunk routes to give trade to local businesses.
Put solar panels anywhere but not on agricultural land.

 

[mikegs]

Put charging hubs in town centres on main trunk routes

Yes. This seems a stupid location. I have a route from the south coast to west midlands that involves mainly major A roads (317/319) and the M5. Yet the only sensible charging points as recommended by Zap-Map are miles off route.
It's insane.

 

[Barfly]

To all who have commented on here, I urge you to go to the website and put your concerns on their feedback form. There is also an on-line zoom consultation happening.

See excerpt from their website:

Update 19th February 2021: Naturalis are to hold an online consultation event on Thursday 4th March 2021 between 5.30pm and 7pm. With restrictions on public gatherings still in place, we will be holding a digital consultation. This online event will provide the opportunity to meet our team, learn about our proposals, ask questions and comment on the plans. The consultation will be held via Zoom and a link to the event will be placed on this website prior to the event. Please join our consultation event and share your views with us.

A few days prior to the event, the home page of the project website will provide a button which, when clicked, will connect attendees to the meeting. In addition, we have posted a consultation leaflet to over 1,500 residential and commercial addresses within 5km of the site which provides a feedback form that local residents can use to share their views with us and which can be sent back to us free of charge. A copy of the consultation leaflet can be downloaded from this website.

Cheers Tony