Concern over lack of high-power electric car chargers in Southwell
Concern has been raised about a lack of high-power electric car chargers in a town.
Southwell has seven kilowatt chargers at its Bramley Centre carpark, however, there is a lack of fast chargers.
At a meeting, town resident Peter Brooker said: “We are ten months from when the wiring was installed and we are about three to four months from when the machines were installed, and I have heard that there are legal issues that I assume are still being worked through, but my question is, who proposed, and who approved, putting in a bank of slow seven kilowatt machines?
“Eight [kw] is fabulous, and nobody can argue with that. Six or seven kilowatt an hour is good because residents who don’t have facilities to charge their car at home can leave their cars in the library overnight.
“However, by not having any fast chargers, it does rather show. They are very important for visitors to the town because otherwise we will lose passing business from people travelling through.
“They will plan their routes and they will say ‘oh, well I can’t charge up at a fast charger in Southwell so I won’t visit at all’.”
Martin Stockwood, a town councillor, said it was complicated issue.
“The seven-kilowatt chargers are extensively for people who don’t have facilities at their own homes,” he said.
“This initiative is for that purpose. The really fast chargers, like the ones that are to be installed at the petrol station, are commercial ones.
“The government has only been providing grants for seven kilowatt chargers and that is why they are there.”
Mr Stockwood said the council faced connection and wiring issues, according to Western Power Distribution.
He said: “We did speak to Western Power Distribution about fast chargers in our carparks and, apart from in the Bramley Centre carpark, the power supply is insufficient in our other carparks and it would require major civil engineering works to install enough capacity to put fast chargers in.”
