Town council ‘charged up’ over lack of electric vehicle charging points

MELKSHAM Town Council is pushing Wiltshire Council for a timescale to replace the damaged electric vehicle charging point in King Street car park. 

The public rapid charging point in the Wiltshire Council owned car park – which can accommodate two vehicles – has been out of action for several months – the nearest alternatives are in car parks owned by Wiltshire Council in Chippenham, Corsham, Westbury and Trowbridge.

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

However, town councillor Saffi Rabey is demanding that Wiltshire Council be clear about when the town can expect to have access to electric vehicle charging points in the town centre.

“At the moment it’s all very vague,” said cllr Rabey at last week’s town council Economic Development and Planning meeting.

At the meeting, cllr Jon Hubbard, who is also a Wiltshire Councillor, offered some reassurance that Melksham is ‘front of the queue’ to have a new ‘ultra-fast’ charging point. But he did agree that the town council should write to Wiltshire Council for clarity. 

Councillors agreed to tell Wiltshire Council that whilst the town council is ‘enthusiastic’ about the installation of a new charging point, they want a timeline for its installation and to have it at the ‘earliest opportunity’.

Councillors also agreed to ask for clarity about the two new charging points earmarked for the Melksham campus and their accessibility for public use.