Hucknall: Electric Vehicle charging ports to be made accessible for households

Motorists who don't have driveways or other off-street parking could soon be able to apply to Nottinghamshire County Council to install electric charging points outside their homes.

It comes as the authority looks to make it easier for residents to charge electric vehicles and reduce carbon emissions in the county.

The new trial, approved by councillors on Wednesday (February 9) would work in a similar way as applying for a dropped kerb, with the council to grant permission for cable channels to be cut under the pavement.

The technology must be funded by residents and can connect to their household electricity supply, making it easier for people to use the vehicles without driving to public car parks or service stations to charge up.

Each application will be judged on a "case-by-case" basis, the authority says, with the new trial acting as an "interim measure" to shape future plans on electric vehicle charging countywide.

Commenting in the transport and environment committee, Councillor Neil Clarke (Con), the committee's chairman, said: "This is all part and parcel of the council's commitment to moving closer to net-zero.

"This is a welcome trial. It doesn't come without risks and we must ensure the safety, particularly of pedestrians, is still well-addressed to make sure there are no tripping hazards."

Councillors broadly welcomed the scheme during the debate, despite some concerns raised about the affordability for residents in poorer areas.

Cllr Penny Gowland (Lab), who represents West Bridgford North, described the trial as a "pragmatic solution" to bringing down emissions and eventually phasing out petrol and diesel cars by 2030.

"We need solid action to make this happen because at the moment it's dreams and words," she said.

"We don't know where we're going to be in five years' time, I hope we're moving towards it extremely quickly and all eyes are focused on making the 2030 target a reality.

"But electric cars are probably not going to be the panacea we are all talking about at the moment.

"They're heavy, they need batteries and they're hard to charge. But they are the stepping stone and we do need them to start to reduce emissions, so I do think this is actually a good, pragmatic solution."

Cllr Mike Adams (Con), the authority's climate change ambassador, added: "We need to be moving away from cars emitting some of the dangerous chemicals that come out of exhaust pipes, there's no question about that.

"The holy grail of an electric charging point is definitely the terraced street because, if you're going to get a culture to change as a society, you've got to provide everybody in that society with the ability to take advantage of it.

"It's great to see we're looking at that, that we're going to trial this, because there's a number of ways we can do it and it's good we're looking at this form initially. I look forward to other things coming forward over time."

An update on the scheme is due before the committee at a later date.