Electric vehicle charging point provision is ‘significantly worse’ than first thought, say local residents

THE provision of electric vehicle charging points in Wiltshire Council’s car parks has come under fire from local residents, with reports that ‘out of action’ charging points is a widespread problem across the county, not just in Melksham. 

It was recently reported in the Melksham News that the town’s public rapid charging point in the King Street Car Park has been out of action since mid-2021, with the nearest alternatives – located in car parks owned by Wiltshire Council – being in Chippenham, Corsham, Westbury and Trowbridge. 

However, one local resident has pointed out that the charging point in Corsham is the only one available for use. Wiltshire Council has also confirmed that “a number of their machines are not working and that due to the age of their machines they are unrepairable or have reliability issues.” 

“The picture is significantly worse than you print,” says local resident Ian Parsons. “The list of alternative Wiltshire car park chargers show they are all also currently out of use – with the exception of Corsham. 

“The lack of charging infrastructure in Melksham is appalling. This lack of infrastructure in general for a seismic shift in the very near future need is the real story – absolutely awful.” 

Wiltshire Council announced late last year that they plan to replace the King Street charging point in 2022 as part of their vision to replace all existing charging points in the county over the next three years. 

However, whilst residents wait for news about when this will happen, electric vehicle owners and residents have criticised the council’s failure to provide a functioning charging point, especially in light of the council’s own commitment to fight climate change. 

“This is a complete joke,” said one resident. “We are all being encouraged to get electric cars and the only council charging point in the whole of Melksham has been out of action since May and not looking like it’s going to be replaced for at least a year.” 

Another local said, “Surprise, surprise. Not yet geared up for climate change!” 

“Absolutely disgusting; how long they have left this broken,” added a local resident. “Wiltshire Council should be ashamed of themselves, in fact they should be putting more charging points in.” 

On the Wiltshire Council website it lists 13 electric vehicle charger locations in the county – including the reported out of action chargers in Chippenham, Westbury, and Trowbridge. 

Melksham News asked Wiltshire Council to confirm which of its chargers are currently working. 

The response from Wiltshire Council’s cabinet member for transport, cllr Dr Mark McClelland said, “Electric vehicle charge points (EVCPs) in Wiltshire Council car parks are provided by BP Pulse, a private company, and customers pay to access their charging points.  

“BP Pulse have informed us that a number of their machines are not working and that due to the age of their machines, they are unrepairable or have reliability issues. They have confirmed that the King Street, Melksham EVCP is one of the unrepairable charging points. In view of this, we will be replacing a number of charging units in our car parks later this year, and this includes the King Street, Melksham EVCP. 

“The Melksham EVCP is what is known as a destination charge point and the government recognises that these chargers are best left to the private sector to provide. The location of EVCPs in Wiltshire can be found on Zap Map, a web-based information tool that has up-to-date information about the status of charging points. There can be a delay in the council being informed that a EVCP is not working. 

“The Government provides grants for home charging to support the move to electric vehicles and applications can be made direct from the GOV.UK website.”