I’ve been an EV user for a few years now. I use a mixture of home and public charging depending upon where I am. The provision in Winchester is atrocious.

There is petrol station that has installed a charging point that is so difficult to access because of its position on the forecourt. Its access is also directly beside a blind entrance. That is a commercial opportunity so one can choose just not to use it.

The public charging in car parks is actually worse. More often than not, they are not working. The one in the old Friarsgate car park is surely there for decoration only and I can’t be the only person who doesn’t relish using heavy charged electricity cables in a place where the puddles clear only on the hottest day. Water and electricity are not known for being great in combination.

Four times this week, I have tried to charge.

Twice at the East Park and Ride site, I get out, set everything up and use the QR code to the new provider only to get the message that the device needed an engineer. The devices have been transferred from MER to someone new, is that perhaps the reason for failure? One not working is a nuisance; two looks like a problem.

I tried the MER at the Leisure Centre. Only one connector was working. The untethered device was in use already. That makes three “fails”.

Today, I had to pop in to town. I thought I’d try the MER device in Colebrook St car park. SILLY me! MER relies upon internet for connectivity. There is no signal down there is there. I DID try using the non-subscriber method. There one has to use a terminal for bank cards. It is set so low that anyone over the age of two would have to squat or sit on the floor to see the instructions. I made the mistake of being 6’1” so a fourth fail.

I don’t know who gets to be in charge of public EV charging at city car parks but whoever it is needs to make sure that it is

- reliable;

- accessible;

- able to work without internet;

- use ONE provider as there are already far too many apps for EV charging.

We aim to be a “destination city” - this is yet more infrastructure that looks great on paper and is less use than a chocolate teapot.

Peter Roberts,

Honeysuckle Close,

Badger Farm,

Winchester

In a statement the city council said:  “We are committed to reducing transport emissions as part of our Carbon Neutrality Action Plan, working towards becoming a carbon neutral district by 2030.  This includes supporting people who want to make the switch to electric vehicles by providing reliable and accessible charging points across the Winchester district.

"We now have 35 public EV chargers (69 individual charging points) installed, including both fast and rapid models, and usage is going up - in August, there was an 8.5% increase compared to the same month last year. Since 2021, Winchester City Council’s EV chargers have provided 723,000 kWh of electricity - the equivalent of over 2,500,000 miles driven in an average sized electric vehicle.

"Our contract with Joju Solar ensures our EV chargers are maintained regularly and repaired promptly. Friarsgate, Colebrook Street and Winchester Sport and Leisure Park car parks were able to charge their cars over 300 times in September alone.

"In total, there are 119 public EV charging points across the district, including our own. People can use apps such as Zapmap to find their nearest EV charger.”

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