Minutes:
The HCS introduced the report, advising that usage had been busy during the summer but had reduced across all sites since then. The data indicated that there needed to be an increase in usage before decisions were made about installing new charging infrastructure. Charging points would be expanded in areas where there was the energy infrastructure but elsewhere this would be more problematic due to costs. In response to a query from Councillor Beer, he advised that sites like Gazen Salts would have been chosen on the basis of space and sufficient power supply. It was unlikely that moving charging points from one place to another would be more cost-effective than installing a new point entirely.
Councillor Vinson asked for more information relating to the usage and availability of spaces, length and type of charge and whether energy capacity had been reached at any particular times. He stressed the need to ensure that the district’s capacity kept pace with the forecast for growth in electric vehicle usage which was set to increase dramatically over the next few years.
The HCS undertook to look at these points in order to have a better understanding of who (residents and visitors) was using the charging points and how. Councillor Bates highlighted the large increase in usage between August 2021 and the same month in 2022, albeit that 2021 had been at the tail-end of the pandemic. The HCS agreed to produce a list of sites that had additional capacity and those where it had been reached and where new sites were therefore needed. He pointed out that the sites had only all come into operation in June. Work to identify usage and other factors was therefore still in the relatively early stages. He added that the Council was in a better position than other authorities who were playing catch-up. Issues such as charging for the parking space as well as for electricity usage would need to be considered. At present a small profit was made on the charge for electricity usage. Councillors Vinson and Bates referred to the fact that neighbouring authorities like Canterbury and Folkestone charged for both parking and electricity usage and the Council was being overly generous in not doing so.
In response to Councillor Beer, the HCS undertook to check the decision taken by Cabinet on 1 February 2021 in respect of electric vehicle charging to establish whether it had resolved that parking spaces would be free for only a year or ad infinitum. It was also agreed that he would review the fees and charges in respect of the parking charge.
RESOLVED: (a) That the update be noted.
(b) That additional information on electric vehicle charging usage, availability and capacity be provided, including a list of sites where capacity had and had not been reached.
(c) That the Head of Commercial Services review parking fees and charges with a view to considering whether a fee for parking should be charged on top of the fee for electricity usage (subject to confirming the decision made by Cabinet on 1 February 2021).