EV chargers causing issues for tourists and residents on North Yorkshire’s coast
Tourists and residents are facing issues due to broken and slow electric vehicle chargers on North Yorkshire’s coast, council bosses have been warned.
A tourist visiting Filey was recently forced to drive his electric car to Bridlington in order to charge it after all six of the EV chargers in the council-run car park were broken, a councillor has said.
“It’s just not good enough,” said Independent Coun Sam Cross, who represents Filey on North Yorkshire Council.
The tourist who contacted Coun Cross had “travelled from the other side of the country” and “to add insult to injury, because the EV chargers are only seven kilowatts, it would’ve taken him 14 hours to charge his car up” had they been operational.
Speaking at a full meeting of North Yorkshire Council, Coun Cross recounted the plight of the tourist who had to drive 10 miles to charge his electric vehicle.
“Luckily, there was good news, though, because he went to Tesco in Bridlington to charge and got it charged for free in two hours,” said Coun Cross.
He added: “Sadly, the EV chargers don’t match up to the quality that is needed in the area.
"I’ve spoken to the officer in Harrogate, and it’s just not good enough.”
Coun Malcolm Taylor, the executive member for highways and transportation, said it was “a very relevant issue not only in Filey but all areas of North Yorkshire” and promised that improvements would be delivered soon.
Coun Taylor told the full meeting: “I can give you some good news, because we have in the last few weeks – and we’re just getting it over the line – entered into a contract to provide EV chargers across the county.
“We will be prioritising those that we’ve inherited from former legacy authorities that are defunct at the moment, to get those online, before enhancing the offer right across the county.”
The executive member for transportation added: “It’s a considerable investment, but luckily it’s not going to cost the council taxpayers of North Yorkshire money, because it’s come from a central Government grant, for which we are very, very grateful.
“So we should see some improvement, some much-needed improvement, right across the county, which will hopefully bear fruit for our visitors and our residents.”
Two years ago, North Yorkshire Council estimated that 724 chargers would be needed by 2025, and 3,161 charge points by 2030, of which half would need to be publicly funded at a cost of £10.3m.