Croydon Council rocks! Well in Transport & planning anyway!

So, on Tuesday morning I sent off an email wnquiring about an electric van charging point here it is http://cavendishdevere.com/blog/applying-new-electric-vehicel-charging-point-crystal-palace/. Tuesdayafternoon I had a response from Peter MacDonald in the Planning and Strategic Transport Department. Talk about on the ball! What great service – absolutely amazing and much appreciated. And it was good news too!

Dear Mr Barney

Thank you for getting in touch with the council about the possibility of our installing an electric vehicle charging point near to your business at 58 Church Road, Crystal Palace SE19 2EZ.

The Nissan eNV200 appears to be a good machine. I will send you a separate note about an offer that we have to support firms to use electric vans. We are looking for firms that use the vans for deliveries and constant use rather than limited trips per day, but depending on demand and the funding we might be able to include other uses.

We don’t yet have a mechanism for responding to requests for charging points. Croydon council are looking to sign a new contract with Source London, who would put in a lot of charging points over the next 2-3 years. The operator, Bluepoint London, will put in charging points as part of their network for the whole of London. Once I have a timetable for the decision on signing the contract, I will let you know. Their preference is for sites close to shops and stations, so Church Road would be good. However, locations have to be agreed with Parking Services, and I suspect that the bays on Church Road are heavily used. The challenge with electric vehicle charge points (EVCP) is that to be effective the bay would have to be formally designated as “Electric Vehicle only” so you would only be able to park your electric vans in the bay if we made that change. I assume the bays here are in a Controlled Parking Zone: what are the hours of operation?

On the plus side, London has won a £13m grant for electric vehicle charging points. Transport for London and London Councils are developing a process, which Croydon is considering, for installing points near to properties without off-street parking. However, these grants are aimed at residents rather than business use, so I would have to think through how we handle your wish for a business-based use. It could be that we have to ask some contribution to the installation.

In anticipation, I have added your request to the list. The location would need to be assessed in respect of suitable power supply and parking. Any charge point has to be at least 2m from existing street items with power, and any bay has to be away from dropped kerbs / entrances and road junctions.

Be aware that even once an installation is found to be possible, the process for making an individual parking bay available for “electric vehicles only” can take several months, because local consultation is required.

For existing charging point locations see Source London: https://www.sourcelondon.net/ or: https://www.goultralow.com/charging-your-electric-car/charging-point-map/# or see ‘Zapmap’. At the moment I don’t think there are charging points near to you. My working list for installations includes Auckland Rise, Beaumont Road and Sylvan Hill.

Peter McDonald

From:

Peter McDonald

Travel & transport planning officer

Strategic Transport

Planning and Strategic Transport

Place Department

Croydon Council

Sixth Floor Zone B

Bernard Weatherill House, 8 Mint Walk, Croydon, CR0 1EA

Tel. 020 8726 6000 x 62765