Subject:

Subject:		Electric Vehicle Charge Point Installation Update
Date of Meeting:		29 September 2020
Report of:		Executive Director Economy, Environment & Culture
Contact Officer:	Name:	Paul Nicholls	Tel:	01273 293287
	Email:	paul.nicholls@brighton-hove.gov.uk
Ward(s) affected:		All

FOR GENERAL RELEASE

1. PURPOSE OF REPORT AND POLICY CONTEXT

1.1 To update Committee on progress with installing lamp post chargers in areas of the city with no off-street parking. Following discussions with UK Power Networks to also inform Committee of the precise locations of the rapid taxi hubs and proposed infrastructure as well as the outcome of informal consultation with residents nearby and formal consultation on changes to parking restrictions.

2. RECOMMENDATIONS:

2.1 That Committee notes progress with the installation of over 200 lamp post chargers and that in November 2019 the council submitted a further successful bid for 5 fast chargers (£37k) of funding and a further bid for 12 fast chargers (£82K) has been awarded this month.

2.2 That Committee notes the outcome of consultation with residents living close to the location of fast and rapid taxi chargers and notes the specific locations and infrastructure designs for rapid taxi chargers following discussions on local grid capacity with UK Power Networks.

3. CONTEXT/ BACKGROUND INFORMATION

3.1 In July 2015, the Environment, Transport and Sustainability (ETS) Committee authorised officers to work with partners and stakeholders to identify and pursue opportunities to install equipment and bid for external funding to support the upgrade and expansion of Ultra-Low Emission Vehicle technology and infrastructure within the city.

3.2 In 2017 there were 200 electric vehicles in the city, by Q2 2020 this had increased to 625 vehicles (including 2 fully electric taxi). While most residents with electric vehicles are able to charge at home, the lack of local overnight on street charging facilities is a significant barrier to buying an electric vehicle. The Department for Transport estimates that 5-10% of vehicles sold will be electric (including hybrids) by 2022.

3.3 There are 3 types of electric vehicle charge points being installed in the city;

· Slow chargers– for overnight charging such as lamp post chargers, which require around 12 hours to fully charge a vehicle from empty

· Fast chargers– for a full charge within 4-5 hours

· Rapid chargers– for a full charge within 30 minutes

3.4 The Government’s Office for Low Emission Vehicles (OLEV) announced on 18 April 2018 that a bid made by the city council, for £300,000 worth of funding to be match-funded by £100,000 investment from the private sector to install over 200 electric vehicle charging points in lamp posts in areas of the city without off-street parking, had been successful.

3.5 Following a tender process, in October 2019 the council appointed a charge point operator (Electric Blue) through a concession contract to provide, install and operate the lamp post chargers as well as replace the existing ‘fast’ network in return for charging a fee for the 100% renewable electricity used. Following a delay caused by Covid 19 restrictions they installed the 200 lamp post chargers by the end of September 2020.

3.6 In August 2020 the lamp post charging network was used 650 times by 126 unique users. It delivered 3,463 kWh of electricity (roughly 12,120 miles worth) which is the equivalent of 2,925kg kg of CO2 emissions savings.

3.7 In November 2018 the council also submitted a successful bid for £468k of OLEV funding (again 75% of total cost) towards 4 rapid charger hubs with 6 charging bays per hub for taxis. We have been engaging with the taxi trade about electric taxis and have consulted with them about suitable sites for these hubs. Following discussions with UK Power Networks about local grid capacity the bay locations have been selected and are shown in appendix A the report.

3.8 The report summarises the outcome of consultation with residents living nearby and changes in parking bay types to electric vehicle recharging only (appendix A and B). It also includes photos of the different types of fast and rapid chargers to be installed including the solar powered canopy with battery storage planned for the Racecourse.

4. ANALYSIS & CONSIDERATION OF ANY ALTERNATIVE OPTIONS

4.1 Authority to proceed with the installations was granted by ETS Committee in October 2019. Not proceeding at this stage would mean returning the grant funding awarded to the Office for Low Emission Vehicles.

4.2 The option of proposing a far higher number of lamp post chargers as ‘exclusive recharging bays for electric vehicles only’ out of the 200 installed was considered. Trials of lamp post chargers for the past year have shown that in some areas they have been well used (up to 75% of available days by resident permit holders) without the need for exclusive electric vehicle recharging signage. We will continue to monitor feedback from the public closely on this issue and introduce additional electric vehicle only bays at locations where they are being blocked by non-electric vehicles and on a street by street basis.

4.3 Although the Racecourse have indicated that they wish to proceed with the installation of the rapid hub the lease agreement has not yet been formally signed by them. If we are unable to proceed with this site an alternative site has been identified on street, opposite the Racecourse in Freshfield Road.

5. COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT & CONSULTATION

5.1 Slow chargers (lamp post): The council has received over 360 emails requesting lamp post chargers from residents with or expecting to buy electric vehicles, but with no off-street parking facilities. The lamp post chargers have mainly been installed on the nearest suitable lamp post to the locations requested by residents The formal Traffic Regulation Order (TRO) consultation process to convert 18 lamp post charger bays to ‘parking for electric vehicle recharging only’ was carried out in November/December 2019 and these bays have now been signed and lined as such as the number of objections received is below the level requiring committee approval.

5.2 Fast Chargers: Informal consultation letters were sent out to residents within the immediate vicinity of proposed electric vehicle infrastructure installations to ask for their comments (Appendix B), in May/June 2020. Following this informal consultation, the council formally advertised the change of parking restriction at these locations to Electric Vehicle charging only through a formal TRO advertisement during July/August 2020. All fast chargers are proposed to be for electric vehicle recharging only and the number of objections is below the level requiring committee approval. With the latest funding award from OLEV the number of fast chargers by the end of the year will be 24 on-street and 10 in the main off-street car parks. The number of Electric Vehicle only bays linked to the fast chargers will be 66 on-street and 22 in the off-street car parks, making a total of 88 Electric Vehicle recharging only bays

5.3 Rapid Chargers: Informal consultation letters were sent out to residents within the immediate vicinity of proposed electric vehicle infrastructure installations on the public highway to ask for their comments in May/June 2020. Following this informal consultation, the council formally advertised the change of parking restriction at these locations to ‘Electric Taxi vehicle charging only’ through a formal TRO advertisement during July/August 2020. At each Taxi hub location, 2 bays are ringfenced for public use until such time as the taxi trade requires all 6 bays at each hub location. The number of objections is below the level requiring committee approval.

5.4 Comments from the informal consultation about the loss of 6 permit parking bays has been noted. The issue of loss of parking bays has also been raised by a South Portslade Ward Councillor in connection with the Victoria Road rapid charging bays. None of the proposed rapid charger hubs is in a Controlled Parking Zone with a waiting list for permits. Comments about possible noise at the hubs is noted and signs will be displayed encouraging drivers to be respectful of nearby residents.

6. CONCLUSION

6.1 The expansion of the city’s public electric vehicle charging network will remove some of the barriers to the take-up of electric vehicles, particularly for households with no access to off-street parking. The locations selected cover all parking zones in the city and the parking and charging arrangements outlined in the report should provide a scalable solution to meet the predicted growth in electric vehicle ownership.

6.2 It is therefore recommended that Committee agrees to note the recommendations outlined in this report.

7. FINANCIAL & OTHER IMPLICATIONS:

Financial Implications:

7.1 There are no direct financial implications of this update report. As set out in the original report to October 2019 Environment Transport and Sustainability Committee, the capital cost of the chargepoints are fully externally funded. 75% funded by grant from the Office for Low Emission Vehicles (OLEV) and 25% by the charge point operator (Electric Blue). Any revenue implications are currently contained within existing budgets (for example, officer time). This is reviewed as part of monthly budget monitoring.

Finance Officer Consulted: Jess Laing Date: 14/09/2020

Legal Implications:

7.2 The contract was drafted so that if additional funding became available the Council could require the Concessionaire to provide additional rapid taxi chargers and fast chargers. It sets out the terms on which the Concessionaire will deliver them.

The requirement for TROs, as necessary, is referenced in the report.

Lawyer Consulted: Hilary Woodward Date: 02 September 2020

Equalities Implications:

7.3 Due to the comparatively high purchase cost of electric vehicles, the direct benefits of electric vehicle driving in terms of cheaper fuel and running costs may tend to favour more affluent residents and visitors. The purchase cost of electric vehicles is however falling, particularly as the second-hand electric vehicle market grows, spreading the direct benefits more evenly.

7.4 Air pollution disproportionately impacts less well-off residents, children and, for short-term pollution peaks, older people and some disabled people, so electric vehicle charging indirectly benefits these groups to a greater extent.

Sustainability Implications:

7.5 All electric vehicles, when operating in electric mode generate no emissions of toxic, airborne pollution such as particulate matter and oxides of nitrogen, which are serious health concerns, particularly in the city’s Air Quality Management Areas. Electric vehicles do still generate some particulate matter from tyre and brake wear but are overall, less polluting than conventional vehicles

7.6 Electric vehicles also generate less carbon per kilometre than internal combustion engine vehicles particularly when powered by 100% renewable electricity and so should help achieve carbon reduction goals. They can also help reduce noise pollution along busy transport routes.

Brexit Implications:

7.7 The charge point concession contract has been awarded to a UK based company and installations are due to be completed before the end of the year, before the UK’s transition period ends so no direct impacts have been identified.

Corporate / Citywide Implications:

7.8 -Brighton & Hove City Council’s commitment to become a carbon neutral city by 2030 (corporate plan “Our plan 2020 to 2023).

-Develop an active and sustainable travel network (corporate plan “Our plan 2020 to 2023).

-“We will install hundreds of on street electric vehicle charging points and rapid charging hubs for taxis” (corporate plan “Our plan 2020 to 2023).

SUPPORTING DOCUMENTATION

Appendices:

1. Appendix A - Taxi Rapid charging hub locations, informal consultations and TRO consultation results.

2. Appendix B - Informal consultation and Formal TRO consultation results for Fast Chargers

Background Documents

1. Electric vehicle update report to ETS October 2019