EV chargepoint roll-out in wrong place, say residents
Residents in Littlehampton have said they did not know electric vehicle chargepoints were due to be installed outside their homes – before works began last month.
Westsussexcountycouncil (WSCC) is leading a scheme to introduce charge points across the county – in areas with no off-street parking – to encourage people to switch to more sustainabletravel,with£1.8millionawardedtothewestsussex Chargepoint Network.
One of the roads chosen was Cornwallroadinlittlehampton – but the residents claim they were not aware of the consultation process.
Steve Trice said: “None of the house along the terraces, which are affected by the charging points, were properly consulted with. The county council maintained they had done the due process. There was no notification of the works until the yellow boards went up and the guys turned up. The county council were quite dismissive of our concerns. They’ve left it in a complete mess. It’s a very busyareaforcarsintheterraced houses there.
“Therearemuchbetterplacesaroundthetown.wherepeople
have their own bays. We rely onon-streetparking.peoplewill park there to charge their cars. It’saboutprocessandcommunication.wewouldhaveexpected at least a notice of works.”
In response, West Sussex County Council said ‘extensive efforts’ were made to ‘reach out to as many residents as possible’ to ask their opinions on the chargepointnetworkproposals.
"Thisincludedanonlinesurvey, leaflet distribution, media release and via social media,” a spokesperson said.
"Betweenjuly10andaugust 4, 2023, a consultation leaflet was delivered to approximately 244,000 West Sussex homes which were within a 250-metre radius of proposed EV Chargepoint locations.”
Alan Butcher, Arun district councillor for River Ward, said he was ‘keen to see’ charging points made available in ‘appropriate places’.
He added: “However, I am very concerned in two ways. This position in Cornwall Road is a poor choice because it is the most strained part of the local area for parking already.
"It should at this stage be relatively easy to get these installations right and give proper notice to those most affected, so I think residents are being let down badly.”