Surrey County Council has a target to be net-zero carbon by 2050, and currently 46 per cent of emissions come from transport. Providing the necessary infrastructure to support increased use of electric vehicles will be a partnership between the county council as the highways authority, and district/borough councils which provide off-street carparks. There will also be a role for the private sector, including carpark owners (such as supermarkets), chargepoint suppliers and EV manufacturers.
It is estimated that the county will need 10,000 electric vehicle chargepoints by 2030, when the government’s ban on sales of new petrol and diesel vehicles comes into effect. Currently 40% of Surrey residents don’t have access to off-street parking, therefore a comprehensive network of publicly accessible chargepoints is essential for supporting residents in their transition to electric vehicles.
They are asking residents to suggest locations they would like to see new chargepoint installed. These suggestions will be used to inform the wider roll-out of chargepoints across Surrey.
- Areas there’s likely to be demand for on-street charging now and in the future,
- Locations where the electric vehicle can park legally and safely, with sufficient pavement space for wheelchairs and pushchairs to pass comfortably,
- Locations with nearby access to a power supply – this is difficult to know, but with no access to a power supply an otherwise preferred location might not be possible due to power supply issues
- Chargepoints would normally be standalone equipment, however lighting columns located at the pavement edge nearest to the road might also be possible
The county council have already installed chargepoints in Guildford, Spelthorne, Waverley and Woking boroughs during 2021/ early 2022 as part of a trial funded by the Enterprise M3 LEP and the local borough councils. Funding has been received for the installation of a further 110 chargepoints across Runnymede, Mole Valley, Guildford, Spelthorne, Woking and Waverley. These installations will allow the county council to gather data about the usage and maintenance of chargepoints which will help with the wider roll-out of chargepoints.