Electric vehicle charging points go live
The nine charging points, each capable of charging two vehicles in marked bays, have been installed by Swedish company Vattenfall and use energy from renewable sources, such as windfarms.
The firm, which operates the Kentish Flats and Kentish Flats Extension wind farms, won the contract for the project from the city council at the end of last year. Since then, it has been working with leading experts BMM Energy Solutions to put the InCharge technology in place.
The charging points are in the following locations:
- North Holmes Road between Havelock Street and Old Ruttington Lane in Canterbury
- Westgate Hall Road in Canterbury
- Beverley Road just north of Roper Road in Canterbury
- Queens Avenue near the junction with Orchard Street in Canterbury
- Central Parade near the junction with Prospect Hill in Herne Bay
- The northern end of Cromwell Road in Whitstable
- Sea Street in Whitstable
- Nelson Road in Whitstable
- Gladstone Road car park in Whitstable (off-street)
The charge points in Canterbury and Herne Bay are in residents’ parking zones and can only be used by holders of the relevant permit.
Three more electric vehicle charging points, capable of charging six vehicles in total, will also be going live in Pound Lane, Watling Street and St Radigund’s off-street car parks in Canterbury in the near future.
Chairman of the council’s Regeneration and Property Committee, Cllr Rachel Carnac, said: “These are the first in what will be a network of electric vehicle charging points in the district and we’re very pleased they are up and running on Clean Air Day. Forty more spaces will be provided in the new multi-storey car park at Station Road West, and we will be looking at additional on-street bays too.
“Potential owners of electric vehicles have to be confident they will be able to charge their cars when they are out and about before they make their purchase. We hope these new charging points will be a big factor in their decision making.
“Projects like this play a key role in improving air quality and we are committed to continuing our hard work on this vitally important issue.”
Two payment methods for the charging points are available. Regular customers should go to Vattenfall’s InCharge website, register for an RFID card or tag and follow the instructions.
For ad hoc use, motorists should download the Incharge app, register a debit card and start charging. The electricity costs 30 pence per kilowatt hour.
Charging times will vary from vehicle to vehicle, but could take between two and four hours in the off-street car parks, and four to eight hours in the on-street bays.
Published: 19 June 2019