A lack of charge points for electric vehicles on housing estates is going to lead to “mayhem” and “riots” over who can charge their vehicle, according to district councillors.
Cinderford West Councillor Lynn Sterry raised these concerns during a debate over plans to build 40 new affordable homes on land off Watery Lane in Newent.
She told the Forest of Dean District Council’s planning committee ( on Thursday July 13) that parking is problematic already and she could see trouble ahead if people have to compete over a limited number of charge points.
She said there should be at least one charge point per home on the new estate.
“There’s going to be a riot. You’ll have the police out. It’s just going to be mayhem,” she said.
“Just by going on what the parking is like on the estate where I live now, it’s unbearable.
“What’s it going to be like taking up a parking spot? For what? Eight hours?
“You are going to have people banging on the door at two o’clock in the morning to say get your bloody car out from here.”
“It’s inevitable. I think we should say get one for every house.”
The original recommendation for the site included a condition for 12 on plot charge points and around three charge points to be included for homes without curtilage.
But Councillor Brian Lewis proposed increasing the power points from three to ten as new vehicles with combustion engines are set to be banned in the next decade.
“I would point out to the committee that in 2030 there will be no further purely petrol or diesel vehicles allowed in manufacture,” he said.
“There is an increasing amount of second-hand electric vehicles in the market in eight years’ time I would expect to see a lot of very affordable electric cars about.
“It would not be very sensible to be digging up all the roads in years’ time to provide more power points. It would be very disruptive and expensive.
“There will be 20 or 30 cars who will want to use those three points.
“It will cause dismay and distress and disadvantage the people there.”
The committee unanimously approved the scheme with the new condition for ten charge points for homes without curtilage meaning there would be a total of 22 on the estate in total.
The plans by MF Freeman Ltd/Platform Housing Ltd/Stockbridge (Newent) Ltd include a mix of one-bedroom flats, two bed houses and three bed homes.
The new estate will consist of a mix of 50 per cent affordable rent and 50 per cent shared ownership.
