Electric cars branded “useless” in Oldham Borough until Council gets serious about charging points

The lack of electric vehicle charging points across Oldham Borough has once again come into the limelight as Oldham Council is set to revisit its strategy for encouraging electric vehicles (EVs).  As recently as just two years ago, the council was forced to admit that it had no strategy for EV charging.

Leader of the Liberal Democrat Opposition councillor Howard Sykes MBE is not convinced much has changed in two years.

Sykes said, “We want people to be able to move towards electric and hybrid vehicles because it’s better for the environment.  But the reality is these cars are a pain to run in Oldham Borough because there is nowhere to charge them.  The Council has been slow and has no meaningful strategy to encourage more people to make the switch.

“Of the charging points we do have, most are in council owned car parks or supermarket car parks.  There is nothing for people in residential areas or on terraced streets.  If we’re serious about supporting people in every corner of Oldham Borough then we need to look at home charging solutions otherwise we might as well say that electric cars are useless here.  These solutions do exist and are being used in plenty of other areas.”