Councillor tells residents with on-street parking not to buy electric cars

Alec Doyle, Local Democracy Reporter

A cabinet member has advised residents not to purchase electric cars if they are unable to access to off-street parking.

Flintshire’s Cabinet member for the Environment Cllr Chris Dolphin has called for UK and Welsh Government to come up with a national policy for residents without off-street parking to safely run charge cables to their electric vehicles.

He was challenged in the council chamber over Flintshire County Council’s seeming delay in introducing a policy to allow on-street charging solutions.

The issue was highlighted by Connah’s Quay resident Phil Woods in a recent episode of the BBC consumer affairs show Rip-Off Britain.

Mr Woods has no driveway, is disabled and says the majority of Motability vehicles now available to him are electric.

But restrictions on allowing charge cables across pavements – for reasons of public safety – and a lack of policy around the use of professionally-installed gullies where cables can be run safely from homes to kerbside without causing a hazard meant he had to surrender his vehicle and go back to petrol.

This week at a meeting of Flintshire County Council Flintshire People’s Voice Cllr Sam Swash raised the issue in the chamber.

“Given the council’s stated commitment to achieving net zero and the fact that Flintshire is already significantly behind schedule in meeting its net zero target, can the Cabinet Member explain why the council continues to refuse to permit cross-pavement EV charging solutions for residents without off-street parking despite such solutions being adopted by the local authorities?”

Resident frustration 

Cllr Dolphin, the Cabinet Member for the Environment, Regeneration, Countryside and Tourism acknowledged residents’ frustration but said highway safety remained the council’s priority.

“The council understands the challenges and frustrations faced by residents without off-street parking who want to own an electric vehicle,” he said.

“The Highway Authority priority is to keep pavements safe, accessible and free from hazards for all pedestrians. All applications and appeals are assessed strictly against adopted safety policies rather than personal circumstances and decisions are never predetermined.

“While cross-pavement charging approaches are evolving nationally, different authorities manage risk and liabilities separately. We are actively monitoring UK trials and emerging guidance and the remain committed to supporting the transition to electric vehicles – and some personal advice to anybody out there, don’t buy an electric car if you can’t charge it up.”

Residents flouting rules

He explained that some authorities charge residents to install gullies – with Sunderland City Council charging £350 while in Hertfordshire the local authority levies a £1,400 fee.

Cllr Dolphin said there were residents flouting the rules and running cables across pavements in Flintshire regardless, behaviour he warned against.

“In my own ward I know of two properties that are doing this precise thing. Never mind safety, never mind the children going to the local school. If somebody falls over, so what? The authority can’t go along with that type of thing.

“We need to go with guidance and I would knock it back to Government. I don’t see why Welsh Government, UK Government or both together perhaps can’t work together for something national so we can all do the same thing for a change instead of all being separate.

“This won’t be the answer to get us to net zero but it would help. We need the Governments to work together and help local authorities across the UK.”

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