Newsletter - Tue 4 Apr, 2023

0 high-fives

00 comments

Borough and county looking at EV charger roll-out

Image: Connected Kerb chargers (credit: Andy Hughes via Surrey CC)

Reigate & Banstead is giving consideration to Surrey County Council's recently announced (Opens in a new window) contract worth up to £60 million with Connected Kerb to install "thousands" of on-street electric vehicle chargepoints across the county.

While it is for Surrey, as the highways authority, to provide on-street chargers, the borough is already working with Surrey to inform that roll-out plan.

Separately, the borough has the ability to install chargers on its own land, and currently has seven in its car parks. There's a commitment in the borough's environmental sustainability strategy to install more, and last year it commissioned the Energy Saving Trust to recommend priority spots in car parks.

Conservative councillor Victor Lewanski, Reigate & Banstead’s executive member for corporate policy and resources, told a 30 March borough council meeting that the authority was considering whether to partner with Surrey and Connected Kerb for Reigate & Banstead’s off-street requirements, but that “this is only one of a number of delivery options open to us”.

Green councillor Joseph Booton, who had raised the topic of the borough's plans in the context of low charger roll-out rates nationally, also asked how Reigate & Bantead would be encouraging residents to input into Surrey's "call to arms" for resident input about the on-street chargers.

Surrey has said that it will be identifying locations using resident input via an online map (Opens in a new window), as well as approaching other public sector and community land owners.

Cllr Lewanksi said communications were "constantly" being looked at through the borough's environmental sustainability strategy, and that the borough would also take comments received in the Surrey process and apply it to its own strategy.

Surrey has said under its on-street plans, Connected Kerb will install a mix of chargepoints, including slower 3kW and 7kW, fast 22kW , and "where suitable", rapid ones. Free-standing and wall-mounted will cater for accessibility needs.

Voter ID highlighted in council chamber

Councillors have heard that Reigate & Banstead will be collecting data on the number of voters unable to vote in the 4 May local elections because they've brought the wrong sort of ID.

The data, like that from other councils, will go to the electoral commission, enabling the impact of the new Voter ID legislation to be assessed.

The information was given in response to a question by Green councillor Ruth Ritter who said that it was "important to have assurances that voters aren’t being disenfranchised by this significant change".

The full article, by Chris Causfield of the Local Democracy Reporter service, on what was said at the meeting can be found here (Opens in a new window).

More on Voter ID and what counts is on the borough council website here (Opens in a new window).