EV Charging in Charlbury - Much needed (Debate)

Fri 2 Feb, 09:29 (last edited on Fri 2 Feb, 10:51)

That’s interesting and thank your Christine , i think that these have been there for 9 months now ? If the facebook post and questions being asked are correct ? Thats good news - and assume for the users of the camp site / facility?  The Town Council should consider the installation of one at Spendlove 

Fri 2 Feb, 08:57

There are 4 EV chargers at Banbury Hill Farm. Might they be willing to increase the supply and/or type? 

Probably better than being stuck in a layby. Not very appealing to women driving alone, and also likely to produce traffic queues on a quite dangerous road. Perhaps the Town Council could talk to Banbury Hill Farm. 

Fri 2 Feb, 08:42

Would one or two chargers in the lay by near the solar farm be possible technically and a good idea?

Tue 30 Jan, 11:07

I can't comment on Mark's question - it's Gifford Trust land and the parking is for library and sports users.  It's obviously very well used.  

But we have been travelling across Spain & Portugal and have noticed how other small towns approach car charging.  Quite often it is the destination that provide it.  So if we're stopping in an hotel then they will have a charger available as a guest of the hotel.  

I would have thought it was a part of the business plan for both The Bell & The Bull to provide one charging point for their customers.  If they haven't already.

But it means you have to organise your journey and where best to stop for lunch  if you need a top-up in a day of travelling.  Spain & Portugal don't have the motorway network of chargers so developed as France, they are much more like the UK - a chaotic laissez-faire approach.

So we use apps, many & varied to find the charging stations in-between.  Sometimes this takes us into interesting small towns off the motor-way and we have lunch in the market café while our car is recharging at the municipal park one charger point.  I cannot recommend this method enough.    

Other times one or two points will be located in garages and that's not so exciting but effective enough and there's usually a coffee shop beside it.

The simplest model is placing them in a road-side parking place.  These tend to be run by the local municipal authority and they use cheap local suppliers that don't tend to work with the standard apps.  That would suit locals since they would get the necessary access set up.  It seems much more like what Charlbury residents would need if they don't have garages or parking spaces.

Very rarely, we've noticed gas fuelled cars parked in the spaces.  It's not been a trouble so far.  Most people respect the need to leave the space for its purpose.

Sat 27 Jan, 16:19

The community centre is ideal as a location - has this ever been considered ? 

Sat 9 Dec 2023, 23:42

Not having children is greener.

Fri 8 Dec 2023, 16:30 (last edited on Fri 8 Dec 2023, 17:02)

Using one's existing car less is greener than going out and buying a new electric car, especially while about a third of our electricity is still generated by burning gas. 

In an inner city area where air quality is a bigger issue, there may be fewer environmental consequences of an electric car at the point of use, but it's harder to recycle and still uses a vast quantity of oil based materials in trim, upholstery, tyres etc.

The addition of extra generating capacity, transmission networks and charging points have environmental impacts too.

Just Stop Lithium ! :-)

PS The greenest thing one can do is fly less (note to all those who went to COP28).

Mon 4 Dec 2023, 08:12

Or , the increase of visitors to Charlbury to utilise the additional Number of places to eat and drink , providing local employment, the many visitors to fill the air B and B , and the increasing number of Electric Vehicles - the demand for an EV charging point is greater than ever . This is likely to grow - and as the topic of EV is raised from a thread of many months ago.  

Mon 4 Dec 2023, 07:20

“Additional parking requirements” are also known as ”problems caused by people buying too many cars without thinking of where to put them”.

Sun 3 Dec 2023, 23:50 (last edited on Sun 3 Dec 2023, 23:50)

Two things immediately come to mind: I. The local electricity transmission capacity and the interconnections with the National/Regional Grid and II. The type of connector plug. AFAIK there is no national standard for plugs and wires and different areas have different formats requiring some people to carry around more than one set of charging wires.

The Grid needs to grow its capacity by minimum of 100% in the next 15 years and really much sooner. We need a World War 2 level of development to achieve electrification and it's possible. Don't forget the UK alone could make 8000 Lancasters in 3.5 years and 21,000 Spitfires in 7 and the USA and USSR...

Sun 3 Dec 2023, 11:07

The hot topic of EV charging and additional parking requirements in Charlbury, should be considered as joined up exercise / Project ?  

Mon 22 May 2023, 08:54

That is certainly the plan

Mon 22 May 2023, 08:15

Thanks for that information Liz. Those contractors presumably put them into Witney, Chipping Norton, Eynsham and Woodstock. Hopefully Charlbury will now be top of WODC installation list, so Charlbury can have EV chargers like all similar towns and villages. 

Sun 21 May 2023, 23:00 (last edited on Sun 21 May 2023, 23:05)

That was decided by the previous administration at WODC. We lobbied to get Charlbury included and were told that we would get them installed when the second tranche of funding became available. However, WODC struggled to find contractors willing to take on a relatively small contract at a time when cities like Birmingham were doing much larger installations, so there was a delay, and then Covid hit, 

Sun 21 May 2023, 16:52

Who was responsible for the EV charger installations in Eynsham, Witney, Chipping Norton and Woodstock? How come Charlbury missed out? 

Sun 21 May 2023, 12:40 (last edited on Sun 21 May 2023, 12:42)

From my report to next week's Town Council meeting:

OCC is set to receive £3.6 million to rollout EV charging points across the county. The priority will be to provide charging points in rural areas and where off-street home charging is not possible. Community organisations (eg, the Town Council) may be able to take ownership of the charging points to provide them as a community asset and deliver a revenue stream. Further details will follow.

If you walk down Church St you will see a pop-up charger which is part of a study going on across the county to find ways in which we can provide charging for houses that do not have driveways.

Sun 21 May 2023, 07:16

How come Chipping Norton, Witney, Eynsham and Woodstock have Electric Vehicle chargers, yet Charlbury still does not have any? Is Charlbury less green than these local communities? 

Tue 16 May 2023, 20:56

Both Chipping Norton and Woodstock have carpark based chargers , albeit not very fast or future proof with the growing demand. EV is now the second fastest growing choice of vehicle type . 

Sun 14 May 2023, 18:47

Indeed Mark, this is a topic which is being debated currently on 'The Archers'. 

Ambridge is divided on the issue - it has not yet come to fisticuffs but, who knows where this will go?

Seriously though, we have to think 5, 10, 15 years ahead. Everyone will be driving EV and the infrastructure has to be planned for.

Obviously, this can only happen top-down: Government- Region- County- District.

If we are thinking Town Council level, it is hard to think what local taxpayers can afford without special funding. And that can only come from Government! 

Sun 14 May 2023, 13:40

The subject of EV charging has been posted before, but with the increased number of vehicles- something that should become a serious topic and considered?