Concern electric car charging points shortage may be hindering Wigan drivers from going green

Centrica submitted a Freedom of Information request to Wigan Council asking how many electric vehicle (EV) chargers it had on the borough’s streets and how many it planned to install by 2025.

The figures which come back would appear to paint a grim picture for environmentally-friendly transport in the borough, with just 10 on the streets and no plans for any more in the next few years.

However, the local authority said on-street chargers were just part of the picture and the borough had far more EV charging points in both public and private car parks, but acknowledged there needs to be more places to plug in electric vehicles.

Despite that, motoring organisations are raising alarm bells in the wake of the FOI research, saying there is a fairly widespread perception that it is too difficult to have an electric car without a driveway for a charging point.

Wigan was not alone in having no plans to install more charging points on streets by 2025, with a whopping 126 councils saying this in their FOI responses.

The borough’s existing provision of 10 on-street EV points put it in the middle of the 15 North West councils who responded.

Alongside the FOI research Centrica commissioned surveys of drivers’ attitudes towards lower-emission vehicles and found more than half of those without a driveway have no plans to buy an electric car.

When all drivers were asked, more than four out of five said they thought it would be easier for drivers with a driveway to make the switch.

Just under half of those not considering purchasing an EV said a lack of on-street or public charging points was a factor in their thinking.

More than three quarters of drivers said that investment into more on-street charging points in urban areas would encourage more drivers without a driveway to go electric.

Sustainable transport editor at Centrica, Amanda Stretton, said: “The latest figures demonstrate the need for all UK councils to play their part.

“With half of drivers attributing lack of chargers as the main reason preventing them from purchasing an EV, it’s unfair that those without a driveway risk getting left behind.

“Charging infrastructure and energy systems will need be upgraded to cope with the demand and support drivers.”

However, Wigan Council said the situation for EV drivers was not as grim as the research suggested as the street is not the only place where EV charging points can be found.

But it also recognised the need for more infrastructure for greener vehicles.

Mark Tilley, assistant director for infrastructure, said: “The data used only provides a snapshot of the electric vehicle charging offering in the borough and does not include all the publicly available charging points available across Wigan, including those offered by other commercial providers. Wigan has 25 publicly available EV charging points with 49 connectors.

“However, we do recognise the need for increased infrastructure that encourages people to make the move to electric cars, with the ban on sales of new petrol and diesel cars coming in less than a decade.

“Two new rapid chargers have just been installed in Wigan as part of the Be.EV charging point network, which has recently been upgraded and expanded access across Greater Manchester.

“Wigan Council, along with other Greater Manchester authorities and Transport for Greater Manchester, wants to expand the public network even further. Across Greater Manchester, we have set out proposals for hundreds more publicly available charging points, however, previous Government funding regimes through the Office of Zero Emission Vehicles (OZEV) have struggled to support our ambition.

“We are hopeful that the revised Government funding regime, as signalled in the 10-Point Carbon Plan last November, will have resolved this and TfGM is meeting OZEV officials to get clarity in the near future. Greater Manchester is also working up local proposals to commit local funds alongside government funding.”

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