Fury as car charge points plan stalls
ELECTRIC car owners in Sefton will still not have a place to charge their vehicles as the scheme to install points around the region has once again been put back.
This comes after several delays over the years as Sefton Council has been unable to procure the facilities for the public to charge their cars.
In its capital programme document released last week, the Liverpool City Region Combined Authority said it was “undertaking a procurement exercise for the installation of charge points across the city region, which has delayed installation this year.”
Birkdale Liberal Democrat councillor, Iain Brodie-Browne, reacted with anger at the delay and said many other local authorities had successfully implemented similar schemes.
As an owner of an electric car in the borough, he still has nowhere other than home to charge it.
Cllr Brodie-Browne said: “If we take tackling climate change as an urgent matter, this failure is unacceptable. I have heard the litany of excuses from the council, none of which alters the fact that many local authorities have drawn down the grants that have been available and got the job done.
“We
are now many years behind the best performing councils.”
As the sales of electric cars climb steadily this year, and pollution from cars is one of the accepted key factors in poor air quality, he said he felt an increasing number of potential visitors to the town will be discouraged from coming because there was no infrastructure for vehicle charging.
He said: “The climate change emergency should be a top concern and reducing harmful emissions for cars is one of the biggest contributions that the council can make.
“Once again, Sefton is several years behind the best performing local authorities on environmental matters.”
Sefton Council said it recognised the importance of electric vehicles to air quality and climate change. It said that to maximise impact with the resources available, and also ensure a unified approach with other work in these areas, it was developing an electric mobility plan.
A spokesperson said: “As part of this, we are working with experts in the field, colleagues across the Liverpool city region and our air quality members reference group, to ensure we are in a strong position to make the most of current and future funding opportunities to improve infrastructure for residents, visitors and businesses alike.
“Sefton is also seeking to lead by example, reviewing its own fleet and introducing electric vehicles and low emission vehicles wherever it can.”