RESIDENTS say their town is being ruined by EV car parks taking all of their spots and it’s only getting worse.
Incensed locals have hit out after North Northamptonshire Council is considering installing nine new EV charging points in six towns.
Roland LeonIncensed locals have hit out on Weekly Glebe Road in Kettering[/caption]
Roland LeonShirley Sayer’s told how her street was often ‘full to brimming’ with parked cars[/caption]
Shirley Sayer’s street – Weekly Glebe Road in Kettering – is among them.
She told The Sun: “This can’t be happening and we’ll do everything in our power to stop it.”
The retired cleaner and bar worker told how her street was often “full to brimming” with parked cars.
Shirley, 64, sighed: “If electric charging spots come in, taking up our valuable space, where will we, our friends and family all park?
“The parking is already a nightmare around here and will only get worse if we lose spaces outside out homes. We have normal cars and we are very unhappy about this.”
She fumed: “For all we know the scheme is done and dusted. I emailed the council and my daughter did too complaining about the proposed scheme but we’ve had no response.”
Shirley, who lives in a block of flat where there are six cars, said: “I gave up my car when I was 60 and when I was driving I could never get a space outside, and it’s got worse with all the school traffic too.
“When my daughter visits in her hybrid car she makes sure she has charged up at her home or at a designated place in a supermarket car park.
“We’ll just have to protest against the charging points here – they are going to be bang outside my home.
“I’ll be sitting in the street with a banner and get all my neighbours to join me.”
Her next-door neighbour, retired hospital porter Pete Neighbour, said: “It is the most ill-conceived idea I have heard.
“People around here are working class, they will not be able to afford to buy pricey electric vehicles so it is pointless having charging bays put it.”
He continued: “I’m not a driver but many of my neighbours are, and they have no home parking and they struggle to find a space on the street.
“If we loose any more places it will also have an affect on property prices, they will depreciate.”
Recently widowed Pete said: “When the hearse comes for my wife’s funeral next week I bet they won’t find a place to park outside, it is often that bad.”
When The Sun visited the neighbourhood this week locals came out in force to air their grievances.
One resident Sharon Styles said: “I’m not a car driver anymore but my son Adam, who lives here and often works away is and we’re against this.
“The parking around here is terrible for Adam, friends and family visiting, and neighbours.
“We got a flyer from the council outlining their scheme and asking for public feedback.
“If they take away parking spaces for normal cars, which everyone around here has, we’ll all be buggered!
“A few people have off-street parking like the family across the road.
“But they have three cars, parking on their drive for two, and still need a space on the road.”
The retired store worker, 67, told how the long road with parking on one side, where her home is situated, and double yellow lines on the other, was “a cut through for traffic and buses into town two miles away” and was “always ridiculously busy”.
Sharon, pointing up and down the road while cradling her cute Pomeranian dog Elvis, said: “The council want to put in four electric car bays, which is four too many!”
Roland LeonDylan Taylor, 19, and jobless partner Chloe Whitlock, 18, next to their car[/caption]
Roland LeonKettering has two other proposed EV charging points in Bath Road and Roundhill Road[/caption]
She added: “I used to have a little run-around car but got rid of it a few years ago as I have my bus pass now.
“If people in the future want to buy electric cars then they should charge them at their own homes. But the problem here many homes don’t have driveways and garages, or are divided into flats.”
Retail worker Lennon Brown suggests the charging points should be installed in the school grounds to have their road free for “normal car parking”.
He said: “I do have a car and usually get a spot in the street but at times it can be terrible. It is a very busy road.”
Lennon, 23, said: “They think they can get all electric cars by 2030 but they infrastructure here is so bad I can’t see how it will support it.”
His partner Ann-Marie Thom, 19, also a shop worker, added: “I’m not a fan of this scheme and don’t agree with it.
“I’m not a driver but I known it’s bad enough trying to get a parking space around here fro people with cars.”
Local Chloe Whitlock, 19, who is jobless, said: “I’m not a driver but I don’t believe in electric cars on safety grounds and it seems very unfair that charging points should be made available over residents needing to park their normal cars.”
Her partner Dylan Taylor, also 19, and a car owner, agreed that EV points should “not take priority in a residential street”.
Another local woman said: “The council wants to put four charging points on the street near the school. The parking here is dreadful, and teachers and six formers park their cars here, taking space that residents and their visitors need.
“I’ve complained to the authority but they don’t listen, they’ll do it anyway.”
Former warehouse worker Dermot Brennan agreed: “Parking is a nightmare around here but I don’t see any harm in having a few reserved spaces for electric car charging – it may make the air smell a bit better.”
The 60-year-old added: “All cars are going to end up electric one of these days with petrol and diesel vehicles being phased out but I can see that some neighbours may not think it is the fairest idea.”
Kettering has two other proposed EV charging points in Bath Road and Roundhill Road.
Five other towns are in the agenda – Corby, Wellingborough, Raunds, Oundle and Earls Barton.
The local council’s executive member for highways, travel and assets Cllr Matt Binley, said: “The number of people driving electric vehicles is continuing to grow and it is great that we are proposing further electric vehicle charging infrastructure in towns across North Northants.”
He said the sites that are being proposed are in areas with a high proportion of on-street parking or in town centres, which means if approved, more residents will have easier access to electric vehicle charging points.
Cllr Binley added: “The sites being consulted on have been identified following recommendations to us by residents and suggestions by local councillors.”
There are currently 12 on-street charging sites across North Northants, with two points at each site, and more charging points will likely be needed in the future as more people are opting for an electric vehicle.
Council leader Jason Smithers said: “If you live near to one of the proposed sites, or are an electric vehicle user, or are considering becoming one, I encourage you to have your say.
“The new locations are additional to the ones proposed in Wellingborough’s Hatton Avenue, which drew criticisms as they would have an impact on local parking.”
Roland LeonFormer warehouse worker and non car owner Dermot Brennan, 60[/caption]