Publicly available Electric Vehicle Charge Points in East Harptree?
EHPC circulated a background briefing paper at the end of 2021 on EV’s and charge points (please see paper below). We would be grateful if you would read this so that we are all starting from the same point.
Based on feedback received, EHPC is forming initial views on the key questions set out below.
EHPC would like feedback from parishioners on whether our initial views are going in the right direction and in line with the views of parishioners.
Please let EHPC know your views by:
– email to parish.clerk@eastharptreeparish.org
– letter to parish clerk – c/o Sutton Cottage, Church Lane, Bishop Sutton, BS39 5XA
– speaking to any Parish Councillor
– coming to any of our monthly public meetings in the EH Theatre
EHPC will then update our views to these questions each month based on your feedback so do keep an eye on our website page if you are interested in how EH responds to this matter.
Thanks for taking part.
Is EV the right technology?
– Some feedback suggests that Hydrogen powered vehicles may be the more sustainable technology to adopt long term. From a scientific point of view EHPC believes this may be correct. However, from a practical point of view research indicates it could be many more years before hydrogen will be more suitable for smaller vehicles. so, the consumer and political momentum behind EV is now undeniable so the dominant technology to be adopted over this time is expected to be EV’s. Hence if there is a desire from the parish to have EV charge points installed then EHPC is minded to support that.
Are EV Charge points required? If so, how many and when?
The vast majority of houses in the parish have off-street parking available. Based on research and feedback to date anyone with off-street parking at their house will almost certainly install their own personal EV charge point. Therefore, EHPC’s initial view is that none of these houses will need a public EV charge point in the village.
That leaves an estimated 20-25 houses in the parish that do not have their own off-street parking. Most of these owners will not be able to access their own domestic electricity supply to charge their EV. They will need to rely on a local public EV charge point when parking their cars at home.
Based on the experience of an EV charge point supplier with whom EHPC has had discussions, a typical 22kW public charge point in a rural village is sufficient to service about 10-20 cars. Assuming 100% take up of EVs by the houses without off-street parking this suggests that just 2 charge points may be sufficient in the long term to support those parishioners who otherwise would not be able to charge their EVs.
Some feedback from those residents who are installing their own private EV charge points suggests there would be some willingness to make their private points available for neighbours who did not have their own off-street parking. This is becoming known as ‘peer to peer sharing’. Given the community spirit in EH and the fact that houses with off street parking outnumber those without by 20 to 1, EHPC believe that such informal arrangements between neighbours may well become the norm. This may be sufficient in the short to medium term to ensure that all those without off-street parking are not put off from getting an EV if they so wish.
Some feedback also suggests:
- that EV chargepoint and battery technology is still in flux and that it may be prudent to defer any installation for a year or two, and
- that the cost of EVs at present is still too high for mass adoption of EVs and so there need be no rush in installing public EV charge points.
EHPC’s current view is therefore:
– in the short term, owners of private EV chargers could be encouraged to share them with neighbours who do not have off-street parking.
– Would it help if EHPC allowed EV car owners looking for charge points to share, to list their names and contact numbers on our website. Residents willing to share their private charge points could then contact them to make arrangements? Let us know your thoughts.
– In the meantime, EHPC will explore whether a public EV charge point at one of the locations below is even feasible. See below for an update.
Potential locations for public EV charge points
Feedback to date suggests two popular locations: EH Playing Field Car Park & Waldegrave Arms Car Park. There have also been other suggestions for Grey Hollow and for roadside charge points along Whitecross Road. Research indicates it is important that a public charge point needs to be around a 5 min walk to home, not much more. Another important factor was that the car park was deemed to be safe, for vehicles and users. Having certainty of booking is also important.
Waldegrave Arms Car Park:
– EHPC has contacted the tenant and asked them to speak with the owner, Admiral Taverns, to determine their view on, and plans for installing any EV charge points at the site. Watch this space.
EH Playing Field Car Park:
- EH Playing Field Committee have confirmed that they do not have a 3 phase electricity supply. Hence it is not currently feasible to install a 22kW public charger at this location.
Grey Hollow:
A resident has kindly approached the owner, Curo. Unfortunately they are not installing any at the current time but promised to keep us up to date with any future plans to install.
Whitecross Road (between EH Theatre and Water St):
– This would likely require the installation of roadside furniture (probably in the form of Bollards).
– There is an electricity supply to the EH Village Clock which is owned by EHPC. Unfortunately it is not a 3 phase supply so could not currently support any 22kW chargers.
– This location is in the centre village Conservation Area and feedback to date is generally against the addition of more road furniture in this area.
Commercial vs. Community Charge Points
Commercial points are those installed and owned by commercial third parties. In principle they would require no up-front capital funding from EHPC, nor any ongoing maintenance costs or volunteer input to manage. However, the downside is that the per unit charge for electricity could be 3 or 4 times more expensive than a typical domestic electricity rate. VAT would be 20% for a commercial point, compared to 5% for a domestic supply.
– EHPC are working on the assumption that if Admiral Taverns is interested in an EV Charge point at the Waldegrave Arms, then they are likely to want to install this as a commercial charge point. EHPC do not think it is an appropriate use of its taxpayer’s funds to subsidise a commercial point. Watch this space.
A community point would typically be owned by the village institution on whose land it was situated and would tap into the landowner’s own electricity supply. This would require upfront funding from the institution or EHPC to install it. There could also be ongoing maintenance costs to fund and volunteer time to manage it. However, an upside is that the per unit electricity charge for the institution may be much closer to a normal domestic rate. This would allow the charge rate to be set to share the savings between the users and the village institution. There may also be possibilities of grant funding from WECA and from the government EV revolution initiative to be explored.
– EHPC are talking to the EH Playing Field Committee about whether they are interested in exploring this further. If there is interest, then EHPC is minded to earmark some of its available CIL funds to provide a potential source of capital funding for this pending further investigation. Unfortunately, the EHPF Committee has confirmed they do not have a 3-phase electricity supply so it will not be feasible to currently install a 22kW public charger at this location.
Rapid vs 22kW vs 7kW
7kW – maximum allowed for a typical residential dwelling. Will charge a typical car battery in 5-6 hours.
22kW – requires an upgraded “3-Phase AC” electricity supply. Will charge a typical car battery in 2-4 hours.
Rapid chargers – requires a significant upgraded electricity supply. Will charge a typical car battery in less than an hour.
What is possible is driven by what the EH electricity distribution network is capable of supplying. We believe our local distribution network is relatively old and will not support the ultrafast rapid charging. There are some areas (eg around the pub) where we understand some houses are using a “3-Phase AC” supply which could support a 22kW charger. However, we suspect the majority of houses have a single-phase supply which supports only a 7kW supply (the maximum that a typical residential dwelling is allowed to have).
– EHPC is trying to establish from Western Power Distribution what capabilities and capacity our local distribution network has. So far, a power line mapping from WPD suggests that the majority of the power lines in the village are “low voltage” but that there are some “high Voltage” lines around the periphery. EHPC needs help from any “electricians” in the village with relevant knowledge in this area to interpret these and understand where “3 phase supply” may be possible.
An estimate from WPD was obtained for upgrading to a Phase 3 electricity supply at the Playing Field Pavilion (£8-10k). This would be on top of the estimated installation costs for 2 charge-points (c £6-8k). The EH Village Hall and Playing Field committee will reconsider the viability of a charger at this location towards the end of 2022 when their current major refurbishment project has been completed.
Background papers – EV’s In East Harptree
February 2022
Updated August 2022