According to an assembly committee all new housing estates in Wales should be built with electric car EV charge points as standard.
Ministers on the Welsh National Assembly’s Economy, Infrastructure and Skills Committee say that they want to ensure that demand does not outstrip supply, as sales of electric cars is on the rise across the UK. Ministers on the committee also said that there was a perception that the roll-out of Welsh Government schemes had been slow.
The committee claims that “confusing” payment and membership schemes and a “patchy” EV charge point network have put drivers off making the switch to electric cars.
Some developments in Wales, like Parc Eirin in Tonyrefail, Rhondda Cyon Taff, are already being built with an EV charge point at each house. The committee now wants to see planning rules changes, so at least 10% of parking spaces in all new housing developments have EV charge points.
Currently there are 547 public EV charge points in Wales, of which 60 are rapid EV chargers. In comparison there are 12,763 public EV charge points in England and 2,022 rapid EV chargers, according to Zap-Map.
A map showing EV charge points in Wales. The map shows how few rapid charging points there are in the country.
The Welsh National Assembly’s Economy, Infrastructure and Skills Committee says that is also wants to see “better communication” between the Welsh Government, local authorities and the public to keep them up to date with the latest progress on the EV charge point network, led by Transport for Wales.
Russell George AM, Chair of the Economy, Infrastructure and Skills Committee said “As the electric vehicle market expands, there is a clear need for urgent acceleration by the Welsh Government to ensure the network can cope.
“Communication with stakeholders and the people of Wales will be a critical part of delivering this network.
“We also believe the EV infrastructure can be hard-wired in if the government requires all new residential developments to set aside car parking capacity for electric vehicles, as is currently the case with non-residential.”
The Welsh Government has said that it remains “committed” to developing a rapid charging network, with a spokesperson adding “We welcome the report and its conclusion that our policies and aspirations are pointing in the right direction.”
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