Harlow Council is set to agree to the installation of electric vehicle charging points in car parks it owns around the town.
A report, which will go to this Thursday’s (9 September) Cabinet meeting, recommends that the council enters into a contract with BP Pulse for the supply of electric vehicle charge points in the following pay and display car parks:
· Town Park School Lane car park
· Garden Terrace Road, Old Harlow
· Minchin Road, The Stow
· Tawneys Road, Bush Fair
· Tilegate Road, Bush Fair
· The Stow service bays
If agreed the installation of the points will meet one of the commitments made when Harlow councillors declared a climate change emergency in July 2019. The report also states that more public charging points will encourage residents to move to no emission vehicles by 2050 which is part of the Government’s “Road to Net Zero” strategy.
By 2030, it is anticipated that there could be between approximately 6,000 and 14,000 battery electric vehicles in Harlow, with between 3,000 and 6,500 being parked on-street.
It is also recommended that a working group is setup to look at the installation of charging points in residential estates and other locations across the town. The installation of points in housing estates would be subject to consultation with residents.
The report will be presented by Councillor Alastair Gunn, portfolio holder for environment, he said: “This report will bring forward a key climate change pledge made by Councillors when they agreed a climate emergency in July 2019. With electric vehicle ownership rising quickly and to make it easier for Harlow residents to own an electric car, there needs to be a mixture of public, private and workplace charging points. As an owner of a number of car parks in the town, we can help provide those public points and we are hopeful that more locations can be identified in the future working with both residents and businesses. These charge points will be cost neutral to Harlow Council with 75 percent of funding being achieved through grants offered by the Office for Zero Emission Vehicles (OZEV) and 25 percent being match funded by BP Pulse. If the report is agreed an application to OZEV will be submitted to secure the rest of the funding.”
