Row over plans for new electric car chargers

There are just under 65,000 publicly available electric vehicle charging points

A parish council has claimed proposals to add electric vehicle (EV) charging bays to a service station are “a disaster waiting to happen”.

The owners of the Hillington Service Station near King’s Lynn said they wanted to install eight bays as "EV chargers are desperately needed”.

Objecting, the parish council said it was “a terrible plan” and likely to increase traffic.

A report recommended that King’s Lynn and West Norfolk Borough councillors approve the plan.

In a letter to the borough council, the station owners - Motor Fuel Group (MFG) - pointed to a government target of 300,000 EV chargers being in place by 2030.

The company said “the uneven spread of EV charging facilities significantly hinders the take-up of electric vehicles”.

It warned that unless there was a significant increase in chargers being installed, the government target would not be met and that “this should weigh heavily in favour” of the application.

The Zapmap website, which lists locations of EV chargers, said that as of June 2024 there were 64,775 sites across the UK.

More EV chargers are being installed, but there are concerns a government target of 300,000 by 2030 will not be reached

Hillington Parish Council said it opposed the plan for the service station as its design would remove some pedestrian access to the site.

It said that with additional traffic expected there was an increased risk of accidents.

The council added “this has the potential to cause chaos” and that “we have a disaster waiting to happen”.

A report by officers for borough councillors said that the “issue has not drawn objection from the Local Highway Authority” and that the proposal was “considered acceptable”.

The report recommends that planning permission is granted, subject to conditions including making sure that plans for a suitable firewall are in place before any construction begins.

Councillors are due to discuss the proposal next Monday.