Barry White
Amidst a media fanfare the government announced plans in November for a charging point to be required for every new or refurbished residential building from next year. Now it seems they have quietly backtracked on proposals to require every shop, office or factory in England to install at least one electric car charger if they have a large car park. The original plan required every new and existing non-residential building with parking for 20 cars or more to install a charger. However, the Department for Transport (DfT) has now revealed it will only require chargers be installed in new or refurbished commercial premises amid fears over the cost for businesses, according to a response to a consultation.
Prime Minister Boris Johnson announced plans last month, saying the regulations were “world-leading”. However, the decision to drop the requirement for existing non-residential buildings means the UK could fall behind the EU, which is introducing a rule for existing buildings to install cable routes for chargers after 2025. Some experts believe that the decision will mean that access to electrical vehicle public chargers will trail demand as the sale of electrical vehicles increases.
According to press reports the government could still introduce more ambitious requirements for existing car parks – such as mandating a minimum number of chargers per parking space. The Office for Zero Emission Vehicles is considering comments on a public consultation that closed last month on the future of transport regulations see: https://www.gov.uk/government/consultations/future-of-transport-regulatory-review-zero-emission-vehicles/future-of-transport-regulatory-review-zero-emission-vehicles#chargepoints-in-non-residential-car-parks
Meanwhile in Settle, Ashfield car park still awaits the installation of electrical vehicle charging points, although the electrical work in preparation was completed weeks ago. Craven District Council is still pressing the contractors to complete the installation as soon as possible.
Further information at: https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2021/dec/27/plans-in-england-for-car-chargers-in-all-commercial-car-parks-quietly-rolled-back
Meanwhile a video has been recently produced pointing out that electric cars still produce pollution and points out what these sources are. You can view it at: https://uk.motor1.com/features/556527/electric-cars-still-produce-pollution/
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