RBWM set to install hundreds of new electric car charging points by 2035

Windsor and Maidenhead council looks set to tender contracts for electric vehicle charging points across the Borough – with hopes to put in 446 more on-street chargers by 2035.

Last March, RBWM received a grant of nearly £1million from the Department for Transport (DfT) – money set aside to help pay for the installation of electric vehicle charging stations on streets.

There are approximately 4,000 electric cars in the borough today, and this number ‘is growing exponentially.’ By 2035, it is anticipated that there will be 50,000 – more than a 12-fold increase.

Thus, the council is looking to pave the way for this predicted much-increased usage in about 10 years’ time.

To meet 2035 demand, the borough will need to have introduced approximately 600 on-street charging sockets and 125 charging sockets in council car parks across the borough.

This is an increase from 154 on-street charge points and four car parks with charge points today.

RBWM is now looking to invite tenders for the supply, installation, commissioning, operation, and maintenance of EV charging points.

The grant given by the DfT comes with the condition that the awarding of contracts must be completed before the end on the 2024/2025 financial year.

RBWM is looking to set up two contracts in a partnership between the public and private sector.

The council will be paid fees for the charge points; either £20,000 a year or about 10 per cent of the profit then company makes from them – whichever is greater.

The next step is to ask companies to submit bids, so RBWM can choose the best offer through a competitive process.

At a meeting of the Place Overview & Scrutiny Panel on Monday, the council discussed a motion to delegate authority to the senior Place officer to go ahead with tendering the contracts.

Concerns were raised about this process; Cllrs Gurch Singh was wary about elected member oversight in decision-making processes in regard to contracts.

He and Cllr Gary Reeves also observed that RBWM has had trouble with contractors ‘marking their own homework’ before and wanted to make sure the council did not fall into the same trap with new contracts.

Douglas Tremellen, RBWM’s transport policy manager, reassured the panel that the fees to RBWM are intended to help with this oversight process.

In answer to queries over why that relatively small portion of money generated was going to RBWM, Mr Tremellen said that the DfT was keen that local authorities do not ‘profiteer’ from the installation of electric vehicle charging points.

The length of the contracts will be 15 years – a stretch that is hoped to foster closer partnerships with the companies, while allowing for flexibility to change as the technology evolves.

As of yet, the picture is not clear on the extent to which existing resident spaces may be lost to EV charging point spaces.

A lone voice speaking against the proposals entirely was Cllr Leo Walters, who believes stridently this was ‘the wrong course to take.’

He raised concerns over greenhouse gases caused by the mining and refining of cobalt, needed for electric vehicle batteries, and the difficulty recycling these, among multiple other concerns.

Cllr Walters felt that electric cars were headed down the same path as diesel vehicles – ie ‘a complete failure’. He worried that RBWM was ‘jumping ahead’ with this plan.

“Local and national governments need to have foresight, and I prophesise that this will fail. It has all the ingredients to fail,” he said.

“I think a great question mark hangs over this proposal.”

Nonetheless, all other panel members voted in favour of the proposal.