Power to the people
Charged debate sparks council rethink
Stirling Council is to allow members of the public to use two electric vehicle charging points at its Old Viewforth headquarters.
It follows complaints that local authority vehicles have been hogging the publicly-funded facilities.
The plug-in points – and others at Lower Polmaise and Springkerse – cost £21,819 and were funded by Scottish Government cash as part of a programme to encourage individuals, firms and public bodies to make more use of electric vehicles.
As of June, 2016, there were 3575 licensed electric cars and vans on Scotland’s roads. Transport Scotland, through the ChargePlace Scotland network, has funded a network of electric vehicle charging points, the majority of which can be used for free.
By the start of this year across Scotland, there were 600 publicly available charge points including facilities at Blair Drummond Safari Park, Castleview Park and Ride, Forthside Car Park, Stirling University’s Cotterell Building and Pathfoot Building, and Dumyat Community Centre, Menstrie.
With limited charging facilities in the Stirling area, drivers were therefore incensed when the council erected a sign at the two Viewforth bays stating ‘Electric charging points for Stirling Council vehicles only’.
Website PlugShare, which identifies potential charging points across the area, lists the council’s Viewforth headquarters as a ‘fillup’ option for electric car drivers.
However, a user commented: “One bay is always occupied at weekends by a Stirling Council electric car which isn’t being charged.” A second user remarked: “There is always a council electric vehicle parked and not charging out of hours.”
And a third driver, who contacted the Observer having seen the sign, said: “My understanding is that the council were given a grant by the government to put this charge point in place and it should be publicly available.”
Stirling Council’s environment and housing convener, Jim Thomson, admitted the two electric vehicle charging points at Old Viewforth were funded by Scottish Government as a way of stimulating and encouraging the use of electric vehicles within the council’s fleet.
He added: “Whilst public access wasn’t part of the grant conditions, Stirling Council is supportive of the use of electric vehicles and we are happy for members of the public to charge vehicles here if a space is available. In fact, a number of individuals already regularly use the facility at Old Viewforth.”
The driver, who contacted the Observer, said: “I welcome the fact the council has seen sense and removed this restrictive sign.”
The commuter, who asked not to be named, said: “They must understand that people who invest in electric vehicles – which frequently have a premium attached to them – require access to points to re-charge their cars.
“Restricting their use and particularly at this point parking their own vehicles there over the weekend when they are no longer charging is denying drivers of low emission vehicles access to this facility.”