To consider a report from the Executive Member for Climate Change.

1)    That phase 2 of the EV of charge point rollout in Trafford which includes on street charging options and trials as contained in the report be approved.

2)    That the progress made to date on EV charge point rollout be noted.

3)    That the delegation of authority to the Corporate Director of Place to negotiate, approve and finalise any agreements or documents which may be required to implement this decision be approved.

4)    That the delegation of authority to Director of Legal and Governance to enter into any documents required to implement this decision be approved.

The Executive member for climate change introduced the report which sought to provide an update on the electric vehicle charging infrastructure in the borough. First two sections 1 and 2 of the report provided an overview of actions taken and delivered to date. Section 3 provide an assessment of the current offer and sections 4 and 5 gave information about work being explored to further enhance the offer across the borough, including the financial considerations. The committee was asked to note the progress made, approve phase 2 of the electric vehicle infrastructure rollout, and to delegate authority to offices as appropriate.

The Leader welcomed the reports’ proposals, stating that more EV charging points were needed across the borough. The Executive Member for Highways, Environmental, and Traded Services also welcomed the report and noted that it had a broader scope than the previous report that had focused upon parking. The Leader added that the recent increase in electric vehicles meant it was a good time for the Council to look at expanding its infrastructure. 

Councillor Jerrome asked when the five chargers listed on Regent Road would be accessible to the public and how long they would be useful for. He also asked about why more chargers were not being installed in Bowden where there was greater demand. The Executive Member for Climate Change responded to Councillor Jerrome that he would investigate the chargers on regent road and contact him by email with the details. The Executive Member agreed with Councillor Jerome’s concerns and the Council were aware of the rapid technological development in this area and the shift towards ultra-fast charging. The Corporate Director of Place added that the Council were in discussions with the developer of the car park about opening but there were some outstanding issues. With regards to the technology the Council decided to start roll out now to meet the demands of residents rather than waiting for more technological consensus to emerge. The roll out had been based on where the Council had capacity and land which was driven by the Council’s aims of delivering the roll out at pace. As part of the next phase when different solutions would be utilised it would enable the Council to cover a broader area including Clifford and Bowden.

Councillor Jerrome asked whether there were planned upgrades to the areas infrastructure to enable further Electrical Vehicle Charging, whether any chargers that had been listed in previous reports had been removed, and what progress was being made in Trafford towards having car clubs. The Executive Member for Climate Change responded to the question about car clubs and informed the Committee that the Council had expressed an interest in joining a Greater Manchester wide car club, which was being led by the Greater Manchester Combined Authority.

The Corporate Director of Place responded to the question about the infrastructure that part of the next stage of the roll out was to test the capacity of the network and the options available to the Council would be dependent on the outcome of those test. Regarding the causeway charging points the Corporate Director of Place was aware of some issues regarding the power supply which had led to some changes to the lists within earlier reports.

Councillor Eckersley asked whether the Council had a system in place to deal with the maintenance and upgrading of EV charging points and whether BEV had proper maintenance protocols in place and what was the KPI for the repair of a broken EV charging point. The Corporate Director of Place responded to Councillor Eckersley that the responsibility for maintenance and managing the points was upon BEV. The Contract was not a KPI contract, but the Corporate Director of Place stated that he would look at the expectations for maintenance times within the contract and pass that information onto Councillor Eckersley.

Councillor Lepori asked whether the Council were integrating with the Trafford Centre, major sporting hubs, and other tourist locations to provide EV charging on those sites to ensure that the area did not lose out on additional money from tourism. The Executive Member for Climate Change responded to Councillor Lepori that the Council had changed guidance so that all new builds would have EV Charging facilities. The Corporate Director of Place added that the Council’s starting point was to reduce levels of car use to access those sites through the expansion of public and active travel routes. The Council was speaking to partners including the Trafford Centre about expanding their charging point facilities.

Councillor Evans note that the report noted a pot of funding had been identified but was not being used this year. Councillor Evans ten asked whether that funding would be ringfenced and used in the following year or was it being used elsewhere. The Corporate Director of Place responded to Councillor Evans that it was up to the Executive as to how the funding would be used and explained that the goal of the Council was to minimise spend while accelerating delivery of EV charging points the funding was there in case it is required and would be part of the capital funding decisions for the next year.

Councillor Welton asked whether street furniture for EV charging was going to be in car parks or on street. The Corporate Director of Place responded to Councillor Welton that a position had not yet been taken this but that the Council would be looking to minimise the amount of street furniture needed.

Following the discussion, the Leader moved the recommendations of the report and they were approved.

RESOLVED:

1)    That phase 2 of the EV of charge point rollout in Trafford which includes on street charging options and trials as contained in the report be approved.

2)    That the progress made to date on EV charge point rollout be noted.

3)    That the delegation of authority to the Corporate Director of Place to negotiate, approve and finalise any agreements or documents which may be required to implement this decision be approved.

4)    That the delegation of authority to Director of Legal and Governance to enter into any documents required to implement this decision be approved.