EV parking to be rolled out to more rural areas

A scheme aimed at stopping rural areas being left behind in the transition to electric vehicles (EVs) will bring more charging points to towns and villages across Oxfordshire.

Funded by a £4m government grant, the county council programme hoped to provide an extra 1,500 public EV chargers over the next two years.

But at a council meeting on Thursday, some of the proposed sites, including in Bampton, Shrivenham and Headington, have been delayed over concerns that the parking bays are needed by all motorists,

Further work will now take place to understand if other sites are available to allow EV charging while retaining existing parking bays for public use.

The original plans recommended 18 sites with EV-only vehicle parking bays. The majority were in off-street car parks, but there were some residential areas.

The programme transfers use from traditional parking bays to EV-only, reducing the number of car parking spaces at some locations.

Officers proposing the scheme said the sites were chosen to ensure more rural areas were not "left behind" and estimated one in four people will be driving an electric car by 2030 and three in four by 2040.

But concerns were raised over the loss of parking spaces for non-EV drivers, as well as fears over the amount of space charging points might take up on footpaths in more residential areas.

Alison Hill, from active travel and bus user group CoHSAT, said alternatives should be sought "without causing obstruction to people".

Hill also questioned why there was no "guiding strategy" to help the future rollout of the scheme.

Jenny Figueiredo, the senior project manager, said the council was taking a flexible approach to the installations, with a minimum 1.5m gap maintained on pavements to allow wheelchair users and their companion to get through.

Businesses and residents in Bampton raised particular concerns, claiming the current parking spaces were well used.

There were also fears the charging points themselves would not be in keeping with the village's conservation area.

Making the decision to defer the Bampton proposals, councillor Gareth Epps, Oxfordshire County Council's cabinet member for transport, spoke of "particular challenges" in the area and committed to visiting Bampton to find "better proposals."

The following sites have been approved:

• Salter Close, Oxford
• Binsey Lane, Oxford
• Cowley Road, East Oxford
• Green Furlong, Berinsfield
• Barns Lane, Burford
• The Phelps, Kidlington (pending the council being unable to find better supported alternative sites in the immediate vicinity)

A decision on the following sites has been delayed until more information is gathered:

• Market Square, Bampton
• Shrivenham High Street
• Latimer Road, Headington
• Bull Ring, Deddington

Proposals at Hockmore Street in Cowley, Water Eaton Road in Cutteslowe and Cuddesdon Way in Oxford, have been approved with some amendments to the original plans.