Agenda item

The purpose of this report is to enable consideration of the objections received from members of the public following the formal consultation process on the proposals to introduce Electric Vehicle Charging Bays in Elmgrove Road, Sundridge Road, Northborough Road and Kemble Road.

David Wakeling, Parking Design Manager, introduced the Report which considered the objections received to the proposals to install Electric Vehicle (EV) Charging Bays in Elmgrove Road and Sundridge Road, Addiscombe East, Northborough Road, Norbury & Pollards Hill and Kemble Road, Waddon. Four sites had received objections out of the 19 sites in total. These were predominantly related to the loss of parking, noise pollution, visual intrusion and concerns that residents who do not live in the local area would use the bays. The council’s response following consideration of the objections was to continue to recommend the proposals. David Wakeling went onto say that that demand for EV Charging Bays was set to exponentially increase in the coming years, which reflected the UK government policy to ban new petrol and diesel cars by 2030. The EV Charging Bay location proposals were designed carefully to be positioned on flank boundaries to minimise the visual intrusion.

The Chair thanked the officer for his introduction and then invited the members of the public who registered to speak to make their representations. Two objections were received in relation to the proposals for Elmgrove Road and Northborough Road.

Max Mulvany spoke in objection to the Elmgrove Road EV Charging Bays proposal highlighted the following:

·         He described the current parking situation as awful and that reducing the parking supply in that area would be even more detrimental.

·         This area was surrounded by busy services and amenities, such as schools and the high street, and there was no protection from the overspill vehicles looking to park.

·         He explained the stress of driving home from work and being unable to find a space within a half mile radius of his home in the current situation, and that losing four parking spaces on Elm Grove Road would have a knock-on effect and displace cars further.

·         The claim that the objections were based on visual intrusion were not accurate and the concerns rested with reducing carers access for elderly residents and residents with young children who need to park close to their house.

·         He stated that there were alternative locations suggested by residents.

·         He suggested that officers should considerer reducing and spreading the number of proposed bays; he was not opposed to the principle of the bays, however he was to this particular area at this given time.

The Chair thanked Max Mulvaney for his representation, ahead of inviting the next member of the public to speak.

GulhanKaynar spoke in objection to the Northborough Road EV Charging Bays proposal and highlighted the following:

·         She outlined that the proposed EV Charging Bay was situated outside her front door, which was the only entrance affected.

·         She said that there were many alternative locations on Northborough Road which were potentially suitable and would not affect residents.

·         She described the feeling of insecurity of having a bay placed outside of her house, as a single occupancy, and passing drivers who were not residents of the area regularly using this space.

·         She detailed that there was limited scientific evidence to support the safety of the EV Charging Bays and the effect on people’s health.

Councillor David Wood joined the meeting at 6.41pm.

The Chair thanked the residents for their representations to the Committee. He invited David Wakeling to respond and provide any relevant clarifications.

David Wakeling made the following clarifications:

·         Many alterative positons of the EV Charging Bays which seemed visibly suitable were in fact not because they did not have the required electricity supply in the road.

·         The proposed bays were to provide electric charging facilities for the local residents and were not intended, or generally suitable, for passing users due to the slower charging power rate.

·         There was, and increasingly will be, a requirement and demand for the EV Charging Bays across the borough.

·         The bays might feel like a loss of space initially, however once these bays were installed residents would be enabled to purchase electric cars.

·         There was no scientific evidence of health risks caused by EV Charging Bays.

Committee Member Questions and Debate

In response to Councillor Ali asking how the installation of EV Charging Bays would affect areas that already experienced parking pressures, David Wakeling stated that the parking demand in Addiscombe was notable, however they had consulted with residents in the past for proposals to introduce Controlled Parking Zones, which brought a negative response and was not taken forward. He also clarified that the EV Charging Bays were intended for the use of local residents and the spaces would only take a small percentage of the total parking space in the area, therefore existing parking pressures should not be negatively impacted.

The Chair asked for more details about the local interest from residents to introduce EV Charging Bays. David Wakeling replied that all of the proposed sites were requested by residents, with varying interest.

In response to Councillor Appleton asking how the allocation and provision of EV Charging Bays in Croydon compared to other boroughs, David Wakeling stated that they were behind inner London boroughs. In comparison to neighbouring boroughs, he explained that it was difficult to compare to Bromley due the the amount of off-street parking and that Croydon was behind Merton and Wandsworth. He stated that Croydon had a target to install 400 EV Charging Bays by 2022 and it was projected that 1000 would be needed by 2030 to satisfy demand.

Members across the committee expressed their sympathy with residents who may be negatively affected by the EV Charging Bays, however the consensus was that the proposals should be implemented for the reasons detailed by the officer and set out in the report. Members voted unanimously to support the recommendations as set out in the report to the Cabinet Member for Sustainability.