Support for an EV charging facility in Spendlove car park?

Tue 9 Aug 2022, 20:31

Woodstock Town Centre car park now has 10 charging points allocated and operational 

Fri 8 Jul 2022, 20:08

A well laid out charging facility has been provided in New Street Car Park in Chipping Norton , provided by OCC , so getting closer ! 

Thu 7 Jul 2022, 09:01

This is a difficult debate and from my perspective, almost impossible to imagine a full resolution for some residents within the central areas.

Let’s call a spade a spade! A lot depends on how much land you own. When you can park in your garage or have dedicated hard standing, probably both, you don’t have a problem, and you can imagine all kinds of resolution such as short-stay, metering, etc. etc. to keep ‘the others’ at bay, which sound perfectly reasonable from your own experience.

 If you have neither, it’s just getting a whole lot tougher.

Wed 6 Jul 2022, 13:56

Look northwards to Hook Norton. A few electric charging points in the Spendlove car park for some car club EVs makes much more sense than EV charging points for personal private cars.

Tue 5 Jul 2022, 17:35

As I understand it, following the refusal of the ousted administration at WODC to install EV charging points in Spendlove car park, the new administration is taking a more enlightened view.  I have certainly had a positive response when speaking to our district councillors about this.

Tue 5 Jul 2022, 16:29

I am having an on street EV charging point installed in July/August on Church Street as part of a wider Oxfordshire trial.  You can see the details here:

https://trojan.energy/products/aon-charger

It is not just for my use as anyone with their own AON Lance can use the charging point to charge their own EV.  This usage is automatically billed by software in the lance itself.  

Tue 5 Jul 2022, 00:18 (last edited on Tue 5 Jul 2022, 10:16)

It’s no exaggeration to say at least 50% of the bays need to be adapted electric charging. We (the UK collectively) are on course for a huge problem as the demand for electric cars is far, far outstripping the implementation of adequate charging points. 

If we’re doing 50% then may as well make them all electric bays and be known for being a super charge town.

Sat 2 Jul 2022, 18:00 (last edited on Sat 2 Jul 2022, 18:37)

I believe that both are needed - as being a medieval town the older properties and located in the town ( without parking ) . Super fast chargers , will rotate the allow to change more vehicles in rotation ( while going to the co op ) and becomes a service for both visitors and the inevitable increase in the number of electric powered vehicles and the government targets to achieve this. Provide the infrastructure before the demand ? 

Sat 2 Jul 2022, 15:59

I just worry there would be very few spaces left for parking. I was shocked that 13 spaces taken up with charging in Chipping Norton. As another comment, maybe time to look at level of short specialised parking - 1 hour, mother & child.  Why not put more with a three hour limit like Witney that would stop all day parking & allow residents to shop locally.

Sat 2 Jul 2022, 13:41

I work for ODS managing the car park service on behalf of Oxford City Council. We have a few sites with charging hubs which serve taxis as well as the general public. There are also periods of time then local residence have free periods to be able to park (no free parking in Oxford) (we'll leave the west oxon free parking conversation for another time..), also, with the grand opening on Tuesday of the super hub in Redbridge ev infrastructure is growing. 

There are, as mentioned before, systems that can be put in place to encourage users with charged vehicles to move on but consideration is always needed on what service Charlbury wants. Do you want someone to charge and move on, or residence  who can park and leave over night, or both. 

Ether way, Spendlove could have something put in place to accommodate, and as Liz mentioned the Gul-E is a great option for those without driveways, but can still park outside their home. 

looking forward to seeing what we can get in place, and hope its not far away. 

Sat 2 Jul 2022, 12:48

Has there been any progression with consideration to providing any charging points in Charlbury ? 

Sun 21 Feb 2021, 09:41

Hold those thoughts Hannen, please.

The Environment Working Group of the Town Council has talked to the Hook Norton group, and a consultation is planned to gauge interest, once we are in a post-lockdown world.

Car clubs are an excellent initiative (and almost certainly part of our future lives), but scaling them to a rural area is a challenge, and we would probably need to link up with nearby towns and larger villages for it to work.

There will be more e-bike tryouts too; the one held in September was a success.  
An article submitted for the November Chronicle wasn’t published, but hopefully will appear in the next issue.

Sun 21 Feb 2021, 03:17

The environmental "solution" is simple.  Just don't have a car of any sort.  My Wife and I managed without one for 3 years, just a few years ago.  We were fitter, and richer (slightly).

Charlbury is blessed with excellent bus and train services.  Most of which have wi fi if you want to work on the go.  Something you can't  do if you are stuck behind the steering wheel.

We had to "get" a car again only because I gained a consultancy in Wallingford, and getting there by public transport was nigh on impossible.

We were helped by a super couple with whom we entered into a car sharing arrangement.  Didn't need it much but it worked.

I floated the idea here of a Charlbury Car Sharing Club, but there were no takers.  Not one.

So much for the "environmentalists" of Charlbury.  Hooky has had a car club for years, and an EV space/point at the Chippy Co-op.  I think they also have an electric cycle  "pool".

We are way behind

Sat 20 Feb 2021, 18:14

There is a subsidy to ev/hybrid drivers from government through which charging points can be installed.  We benefitted ourselves when we bought our PHEV in 2019.  Look at zapmap to check where charging points are located and some are indeed free, usually supermarkets wanting to attract shoppers to their store.  Otherwise drivers pay for the charge for their vehicles.

Sat 20 Feb 2021, 10:37 (last edited on Sat 20 Feb 2021, 15:45)

A government incentive so people can install a charger, if possible, at home would be better.

I think people will just "hog" the ones if installed at the Spendlove Centre and should they be pay as you go?  I have been told that some supermarkets have them and people charge for free which seems ludicrous to me.

Fri 19 Feb 2021, 13:55

I agree with you, Christine. To free up space in the Spendlove, which is often blocked with vehicles that stay all day, I have often thought that the Town Council could consider asking the Bell if they could rent some of the Bell car park for peppercorn rent during the day when it is generally empty, so that workers at the various town centre businesses can park there while they're at work, freeing up street spaces for residents and the Spendlove for shoppers.

Wed 17 Feb 2021, 23:45

No transformer and a touchable conductive enclosure: an electrical disaster from a user electric shock risk point of view. No wonder the wiring regs have been updated, I hope that the effectiveness of the conductive earth spike remains good.

Wed 17 Feb 2021, 12:47 (last edited on Thu 18 Feb 2021, 09:25)

I'm now starting to imagine the parking space disputes that might arise with "cable through gully" systems unless spots are reserved for individual households.

I also hope that there is a requirement that these are fed from proper charging points and not via an extension cable from a normal household socket. It's not generally known, but on houses fed with TN-C-S connections (which is the great majority of properties) there is a regulatory requirement that they have special protection or a separate earth on external charging points. That's because there's a condition in the distribution network (a broken PEN - a combined neutral/earth) that can cause the earth connection to go live, which is really bad news if it's a car out in the street...

Wed 17 Feb 2021, 11:36

I think there would be more support if a different site could be identified. The Spendlove is always so crowded. Might the new management at The Bell be persuaded to install charging points in their underused car park?

It might have the side-effect of attracting customers inside while they wait.

Charlbury Station is also, of course, a suitable site, although parking charges would need to be paid and add to the cost. This is already available at a few GWR stations, with more to follow.

Tue 16 Feb 2021, 15:36 (last edited on Tue 16 Feb 2021, 15:37)

As an EV owner living on Church Street I think both of these projects should be fully supported.  Rapid charge (Spendlove Car park proposal) is typically 40 mins and most paid machines will automatically include a  penalty if cars are left plugged in for much longer than that.

Please get everybody you know to support this so that we can start making Charlbury Greener.  https://chargemystreet.co.uk/cluster/national/438#438

Tue 16 Feb 2021, 15:36

Liz - depends which side of the road cars park - no good for Park St unless the cars swap the side of the road that they park on? 

All - apparently the norm is for the car driver to pay a fee for charging - the fee incentivises or compels drivers to move their car after it is charged.

Tue 16 Feb 2021, 12:38 (last edited on Tue 16 Feb 2021, 12:40)

There is a project about to start with Oxford City to introduce cables that can be run through gullies in the pavement  from a house to a car and this could be a very good solution for places like Charlbury.

https://www.odsgroup.co.uk/News/2021/02/ODS-and-Oxfordshire-County-Council-awarded-joint-i?fbclid=IwAR0tyrkCcfjlDnTS9KPHn1eDNdTJUpgv4XRNbTXaQ0D3Nr8WcavxvwSLapQ

Tue 16 Feb 2021, 12:21 (last edited on Tue 16 Feb 2021, 12:25)

Some charging points are already equipped with systems for detecting "parking violations" when cars are occupying them when not charging. How common they are in the UK, I don't know, but clearly the technology is available. After all, you can get a "fine" for parking at Charlbury station if you are there for more than the permitted time without paying.

This company sells exactly such systems.

Personally I don't see any easy solution for those that have not choice but to park on streets. Whilst there is talk of street charging points, it's difficult to see how that would be compatible within the narrow confines of, say, Market Street or Sheep Street. Maybe this could partly be coped with by overnight charging spots in Spendlove (which is often all but empty at night), but I don't see it coping with the potential demand.

Mon 15 Feb 2021, 20:48

Andrew, it could be made "self-regulating". Simply link the charging point to a cable and pulley that is linked to a 2-ton weight suspended above the charging parking space. A timer is started when charging is complete, and if the vehicle is not moved by the time that the timer times out, the weight is dropped on the vehicle. 

Simples!! :-) 

Mon 15 Feb 2021, 20:40

As Philip says, if there are to be one or two charging points they will need to be rapid and also subject to some sort of time limit on parking in those spaces; it would be counterproductive if a vehicle was parked in the spot to charge but then left there once fully charged.

I admit I have very little knowledge of how long it takes to fully charge a car at a rapid-charge point, nor how any monetary charges are levied; is it done by the time connected or some metered system with a charge for the current used during that time?

Certainly any blocking of the charge-points would have to be dealt with by somebody, but by whom?

Mon 15 Feb 2021, 19:42

This is a great idea. I’d love to buy an electric car but as with many people in Charlbury I don’t have private parking by my house so only a public charging point would work. I’m sure the bay/s could be made so only electric cars can park there and only whilst being charged. That would open up electric vehicle ownership to lots more people. I’ve gladly expressed my support. 

Mon 15 Feb 2021, 19:11

Good idea to have one or two rapid charging points used by multiple vehicles throughout the day. 

Bad idea if the charging rate is slow or the point is occupied all day by a car that would otherwise be parked elsewhere.

Need to get the mix of total spaces right. There can sometimes be no ordinary spaces yet there are empty mother & child / disabled spaces.

Public parking at the Spendlove needs to be biased in favour of short stays (an hour or so) to facilitate shopping, library visits, medical / dental appointments etc NOT all day parking.

Mon 15 Feb 2021, 16:57

This website is looking at expressions of support for an EV charging facility in Spendlove car park https://chargemystreet.co.uk/cluster/national/438#438

Seems like a positive, future-looking venture.