Surbiton Neighbourhood Committee - 17th September 2020 Source electric vehicle charging point objections Report by Assistant Director Highways, Transport and Regulatory Services

Purpose To seek approvals to proceed with Source London electric vehicle (EV) charging points at locations which have prompted objections.

Recommendations To resolve that - ​ ​ 1. the Committee notes the objections and officer’s comments as set out in paragraphs 14. 2. The objections are set aside and Source London charging points be installed at Chiltern Drive (, Surbiton Neighbourhood) (three parking bays will be ​ ​ marked as EV only) 7333_Chiltern Drive_SL-010_Rev A.pdf (see Annex 1). ​ OR 3. The objections are set aside and Source London charging points be installed at Chiltern Drive (Berrylands, Surbiton Neighbourhood) (two parking bays will be ​ ​ marked as EV only)

4. Source London charging points be installed at Victoria Road (St Marks, Surbiton Neighbourhood) (three parking bays will be marked as EV only) 7346_Victoria Road_SL-010_Rev A.pdf (see Annex 2). ​

5. Source London charging points be installed at Dennan Road (Surbiton Hill, Surbiton Neighbourhood) (three parking bays will be marked as EV only) 7337_Dennan Road_SL-010_Rev A.pdf (see Annex 3). ​

Benefits to the Community:

The Source London charging points are fast chargers (3 to 4 hours for a full charge). Lack of access to charging point infrastructure is a key barrier to electric vehicle uptake so it is important that there are charging points options spread across the Borough.

The switch to electric vehicles is key to improving the air quality as these vehicles have no tailpipe emissions of nitrogen oxides and particulates.

The ambition set out by the Mayor of London is for every new car or van registered in London to be zero emission by 2030 a goal which aligns with the ambition of the Committee on Climate Change. The Mayor’s goal is 10 years sooner than the national goal of 2040 which is set out in the UK Government ‘Road to Zero’ policy.

To meet these goals it is important that Kingston has a wide availability of charging points to support growing numbers of electric and hybrid vehicles across the next decade.

Key Points

A. A decision is required on whether to install Source London charging points at sites despite the objections we have received. Those objecting appear to be more concerned by the number of parking spaces to be marked for EV use only than about the charging point infrastructure per se. B. Where the proposed sites are near to businesses, the objections reveal the businesses consider these sites will negatively impact their businesses. However, there is an argument to say that these sites may bring additional customers in time. C. There will be an impact on parking. To install these chargers, parking bays will be marked for EV usage only. This will reduce the number of parking bays available for general use. D. Electric vehicles using the bays will be able to park “at any time”,without charge or time limit, provided that the vehicle is connected to the recharging post at all times while it is left at the recharging point. E. Officers have noted a suggestion from councillors to consider reducing the number of EV parking bays for Dennan Road to two bays only. The contractor has advised a reduction to two bays would not be feasible at this location as a power connection is required from the other side of the road. The connection works add additional cost and three bays would make the site viable. F. Officers have noted a suggestion to consider a reduction in the number of EV bays for Chiltern Drive to two bays only. The contractor has agreed two bays would be feasible here. G. Shifting a location by any amount would require a new Traffic Management Order (TMO) consultation and delay. H. Reducing from 3 to 2 chargers reduces the impact on non-EV parking, however it is usually the case that this impacts too heavily on Source London’s business case for the site and they will not want to install at the site.

I. If the sites cannot be approved at the proposed locations, the Sustainable Transport team would welcome alternative suggestions from the Committee for locations to site these chargers. Context

1. The Mayor’s Transport and Environment Strategies set out a clear commitment to zero emission road transport, and to a zero carbon city by 2050.

2. A key ambition set out by the Mayor of London is for every new car or van registered in London to be zero emission by 2030, a goal which aligns with the ambition of the Committee on Climate Change. The Mayor’s goal is 10 years sooner than the national goal of 2040 which is set out in the UK Government ‘Road to Zero’ policy.

3. TfL have published comprehensive guidance on electric vehicle infrastructure for boroughs - London electric vehicle infrastructure delivery plan, London's electric ​ ​ ​ vehicle charge point installation guidance

4. The Borough is keen to promote active travel, cycling and walking. However, many Kingston residents will still need to drive, so it is important that the Borough works to deliver charging point infrastructure to encourage a shift to Ultra Low Emission Vehicles. Further details on the Council’s approach towards charging point infrastructure can be found in the ULEV Policy and Action Plan Decision - ​ Ultra-Low Emission Vehicle (ULEV) Policy and Action plan

5. The Council is looking to increase the number of electric vehicle charging points to at least 100 charging points by May 2022.

6. Compared to other London boroughs, Kingston has a modest number of electric vehicle charging points - Electric vehicle charging devices by local authority. ​ ​ There is work to be done on increasing the number of charging points in the Borough to cope with future demand.

7. Kingston has a contract with Blue Point Ltd for the operation of Source London fast chargers. The charge points are installed, maintained and operated at Blue Point’s expense. 8. This year Source London chargers have been delivered at 10 sites (plus one renewal at Union Street).

Proposal and Options 9. Proposal - Accept the sites that we have consulted on with no changes. 10. Alternative option - Ask us to reconsult on slightly modified sites (e.g reducing the number of parking bays or move just down the road). 11. Alternative 2 - Ask us to find other appropriate sites in the Neighbourhood and consult on those in collaboration with ward members. 12. Abandon attempts to instal fast chargers in the Neighbourhood - this would have repercussions on the Council’s ability to meet its targets within the Ultra Low Emission Vehicle Strategy and action plan and Local Implementation Plan. Consultations 13. Notices advising of the proposed electric vehicle charging points were displayed at the sites during January 2020. The number of objections received is listed below. The objections were received via email. The objection comments were anonymised then passed onto SSE, the electric vehicle charging point contractor, to review and provide officers with suggested responses. These responses were then e-mailed to the objectors, however only one response was acknowledged. Only a very small number of phone numbers were included on the e-mail objections and some were from businesses which may not have been open at the time due to Covid-19 restrictions, hence the decision to proceed with the installation of these charge points is being brought to the attention of Neighbourhood committees.

Chiltern Drive (Berrylands) - 3 objections, (3 parking bays will be marked as EV only)

Victoria Road (St Marks) - 1 objection, (3 parking bays will be marked as EV only)

Dennan Road (Surbiton Hill) - 2 objections, (3 parking bays will be marked as EV only)

Objections - Surbiton Neighbourhood

Chiltern Drive (Berrylands) - 3 objections ​

Officers comments - Parking is in demand across Kingston. The planning application for the development mentioned by the objectors is 2​ 0/00656/FUL. https://publicaccess.kingston.gov.uk/online-applications/applicationDetails.do?keyVal=Q74UW1N HFQ000&activeTab=summary

I would like to object on the electrical vehicle recharging point outside 162-166 chiltern Drive , On the basis that parking will be further restricted by the new development the bay will take 4 parking spaces away which will have an impact on our business therefore I strongly object to this planning.

I am writing to inform you that we object to the electric bays parking notice reference of above,that are to be placed on chiltern drive . The reason being that as a business we are already struggling for ourselves and our customers to find a place to park. There is also a new build of flats in the near time for which parking is the main concern. These bays take 4 car spaces on a small road. Therefore we oppose against this notice.

We have been made aware of plans to put 4 x Electric vehicle charging points outside 162-166 Chiltern Drive, KT5 8LS. We are writing to object to the electric charging points being put in at this address. This is on the basis that parking is very restricted in this part of Chiltern Drive as it is. There are plans to develop and build 7 storey flats behind our premises which will add to the parking problem anyway. Taking away 4 parking spaces outside our working premises will affect our business, we are a small business giving a service to the local community. Therefore we strongly object to this plan.

Victoria Road (St Marks) - 1 objection

Officers comments - the small businesses were not consulted beyond the TMO notice displayed in January advertising the proposed charging point. As residents make the switch to EV’s, charging points have the potential to bring additional customers to small businesses who might otherwise not visit. If you have to leave your car for 3 -4 hours for it to charge, the likelihood is that you are going to do some shopping and/or other activities in the area while it charges. The FSB and Chamber of Commerce were not asked to specifically respond.

I realise this consultation had ended but I did not have chance to respond earlier . Please ensure these comments below are taken into account . If not pl explain why if RBK is not willing as RBK have extended consultations in the past when there was little response. I expect there was little response. Was there?

1. The loss of 2 ordinary spaces – has not been looked at by asking the small business in the area who are dependent on the majority of ordinary car drivers for trade as only 2% of cars are electric. Why are RBK pandering to the minority driver?

2. It is known by RBK and told by Ian Thomas most biz in RBK are micro . It is also known Surbiton has the biggest number of those so all to help then must be looked at . The this section asked in any way beyond the statutory consultation ?

3. It is known retail is finding it tough. Victoria Road probably has a slightly higher number of retail that services or manufacturing biz. So was this taken into account in choosing Victoria Road ?

4. Neither the FSB nor the Chamber of Commerce were asked to specifically respond. Why Not?

Dennan Road (Surbiton Hill) - 2 objections

Officer comments - parking bays have to be marked for EV’s so there would be a reduction in parking bays. We cannot restrict use of the charging points to local residents only. The EV bays need to be consecutive due to the costs of installation. ​There are 26 EV’s registered in the roads around Dennan St and this particular site was a resident request. The contractor also searched on surrounding streets (Bond Rd, Malvern Rd, Park Rd etc) and found this was the best location. It was determined there was enough footpath left after install at this site and it was close enough to services without being on a residential frontage to make it a viable site. Although this is not a major thoroughfare the contractor believes there would be enough demand from residents in the area to progress with this location.

RE: Your ref KINGMAP 0036-S17 We have noted and welcome the Council’s forward thinking in the plans to create new e parking bays in the Dennan Road area.

The proposal for 3 bays all on the same part of Dennan Road does however raise some immediate concerns: The area is already very busy, especially in the evenings and on weekends. (Please see attached photographs). There are very few electric cars being used currently in the area, and those that are evident, are able to make use of driveways, or paved areas off the street. The prospect of a sudden increase in the use of electric cars within the next decade is small, not least because our existing power grid could not hope to support this, and cost of new electric cars is still beyond the reach of many persons.

We would like the Council to consider: ensuring that any new e bays are not provided in a manner which would serve to reduce available parking in the area at busy times (evenings and weekends) are provided for use of local residents only (at least for the short term period while there are very few electric cars about) are not located all in the same location next to each other so as to unduly put pressure on parking within the confines of Dennan Road – not least because this street is already consistently congested by residents in Ellerton Road using the area for both regular and long term parking of commercial vehicles and camper vans and secondary domestic vehicles. Introducing more expansive residents parking only restrictions in the area. Consider other locations instead of Dennan Road, such as Ditton Road, Cotterill Road and Ellerton Road. Ideally these bays should be located in areas which are less than ideal, i.e. such as under trees, or other areas where persons might generally wish to avoid parking regularly. We are grateful for your invitation to provide feedback on this initiative. We would be happy to share more details and ideas with you as you may require.

I am writing to OBJECT to the proposed installation of 3 Electric Vehicle Charging Stations on Dennan Road. I live in XX Cotterill Road which will be across from these charging stations.My objection is based on the following grounds: 1. Increased traffic on these residential roads. The traffic is already a problem on these road. In the past 6 months I have seen increased incidents of road rage and speeding on these roads as non residents use these roads as a “rat run” to avoid traffic on larger roads. On one incidence a car mounted the pavement out side my house - at speed to avoid slow moving traffic and had any children been present on the path this would certainly have brought about a fatality. Many children use these roads as they walk to the various schools - something we as a family want to encourage. But their safety and ineffectual speed bumps are an increasing risk. 2. Reduced parking capacity for residents. Increasingly it is becoming more and more difficult tofind parking on these roads. As non-residents regularly use these non-metered roads to park for Surbiton station. Adding these extra electric bays which put additional parking pressures on the residents of Cotterill and Dennan Roads. I am happy to discuss these points in more detail if needed.

Timescale 14. There is no firm timescale of when these sites would be delivered. We have asked the contractor to specify if there is a window of opportunity for the sites to be delivered if / once approval to install is provided. Resource Implications 15. As mentioned above, Source London chargers are installed and managed at Blue Point Ltd’s expense. 16. We have no specific budget for this project other than Growth funding for a project officer (in post until July 2021), so we have no specific budget for TMO’s. So each round of consultation is unfunded and Neighbourhood funding might need to be sought for that. Financial Context

17. The Council is operating in an increasingly challenging financial environment. Kingston faced a number of financial challenges in the medium to longer term - even before the COVID-19 outbreak, which has further added to these challenges. The economic and financial consequences of the pandemic, growing demand for services, and limited government grant funding make it difficult to find adequate funds to meet the borough's needs.

18. The future of local government finance faces a significant level of uncertainty. The impact of the Fair Funding Review and a future review of business rates is currently unknown, and the lasting effects of COVID-19 on our residents, local businesses and the Council itself remain uncertain.

19. Despite these challenges the Council has a drive and commitment to ensure it is doing the best for residents and communities.

Legal Implications

20. Officers worked with Legal intensively when the Source London contract was set up and varied. Risk Assessment

21. The risk of bays not being used in the short term must be weighed against the risk to the climate and public health of not providing charging point infrastructure to enable residents to switch low emission vehicles.

Equalities Impact Assessment

22. An EQIA was completed for the Source London contract variation. Health Implications

23. Adding more electric vehicle charging points can be seen as part of a range of measures to help improve air quality, reduce emissions and contribute to health and well-being. The added local benefit will be a reduction in emissions at the charging point sites.

Road Network Implications

24. These sites involve converting 2 - 4 bays (depending on the site) to electric vehicles only. As such, it is likely there will be greater pressure for parking in certain areas than before. Environmental & Air Quality Implications 25. Adding more electric vehicle charging point infrastructure can be seen as part of a range of measures to help improve air quality, reduce emissions and contribute to health and well-being. The added local benefit will be a reduction in emissions at the charging point sites. Background papers held by the author of the report: Ian Baker, Team Leader, ​ Highways, Transport and Regulatory Services, [email protected]. Tel 020 8547 5922

Background papers TMO notices for: Chiltern Drive Victoria Road Dennan Road