New electric car charging points are to be installed at 21 locations across Stockport in a bid to cut emissions and boost air quality. The council is to link up with Iduna - which operates the Be.EV network - to promote the use of electric vehicles and help the borough achieve its goal of becoming carbon neutral by 2038.
The reliability and availability of charging points is known to be one of the main reasons people resist switching to electric vehicles (EVs), with data from 2019 showing these made up just 0.5pc of all cars in Stockport. While there are 25 public EV charging points in the borough - as well as several that are operated privately- there is a need for more, including in Romiley, Marple and the south and southwest of the town centre.
The council's cabinet has now signed off on plans to lease Iduna spaces at 21 public car parks across Stockport. There will be a minimum of two charging points per hub and Iduna will pay for the purchase and installation as well as meeting the ongoing operation and maintenance costs.
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Coun Mark Roberts, cabinet member for climate change and environment said he was delighted with the move as improving EV charging had been a Lib Dem priority for some considerable time. He said: "I think it's important this report goes some way to ensuring that Stockport does have the EV infrastructure that it needs and goes some way to catching up on where we need to be in providing for residents.
"It's future proofing, I suppose, of where things need to be going on. It's also only a first phase, there is an opportunity to build on this strong foundation and take what works moving forward with it. Some private charging points in the borough have restrictions on who can use them and Coun Roberts noted that concerns had been raised over the exclusive nature of some EVs.
But he added: âThis is very much about delivering access to EV infrastructure across the borough and ensuring that is open to everybody, not just those with the very high end models which is perhaps the case as it currently stands. There are 21 Initial suggested locations¢ for charging hubs in the council report, including Marple Memorial Park, Romiley Precinct and Torkington Road, in Hazel Grove.
But councillors welcomed the recommendation that area committees would have input on the best places to install charging points within their wards. Coun Keith Holloway said: âI think that's absolutely right, local councillors will have a reasonably good picture of where the demand is, where the best locations are, it's absolutely right area committees have a key role in this whole process.
The arrangement would bring in an annual income of around Ãã13,500 for the council, assuming Iduna provides 54 bays across 21 sites. However, the report noted the risk Iduna could cherry pick locations and fail to deliver the less profitable sites - and this should be mitigated via contractual arrangements such as stop-dates for delivery.
There is also a potential loss of income from car parking as the council does not currently charge for parking in bays where EV charging is in place.
The 21 'initial suggested locations' are:
Massie Street, Cheadle
Bruntwood Park, Cheadle
Church Road, Cheadle
Finney Lane, Cheadle
Church Road/Woods Lane, Cheadle
Mellor Road, Cheadle
Bramhall Precinct
Commercial Road East, Hazel Grove
Torkington Road, Hazel Grove
Caroline Street, Edgeley
Banks Lane, Offerton
Marple Memorial Park
Romiley Precinct
Romiley Railway Station
Ashbrook Lane, Reddish
Rupert Street, Reddish
Didsbury Road, Heaton Mersey
Redrock NCP, town centre
Merseyway NCP, town centre
Churchgate, town centre
Knightsbridge, town centre
Stockport council cabinet met at the town hall on Tuesday night (December 7).
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