“Failing” Oldham Council leaders admit there is “no plan” for residential electric vehicle charging
Liberal Democrats hit out at “failing” council leaders as Oldham Council admits there is “no plan” for residential electric vehicle charging.
Oldham Liberal Democrat Leader councillor Howard Sykes MBE has hit out at council bosses after it emerged that Oldham Council currently has no plan in place for ‘on street’ residential electric vehicle charging.
Councillor Sykes said, “Demand for electric vehicles is on the rise, with record numbers hitting our roads in 2022. Yet Oldham’s leaders have consistently failed to plan for the future. We are already falling behind other parts of Greater Manchester and the rest of the country.”
A council response to a Freedom of Information request (FOI) seen by Oldham Liberal Democrats confirms that there are currently no plans for an ‘on street residential charging strategy’.
Councillor Sykes said, “Parts of our borough are very densely populated. As demand for electric vehicles grows, we need a strategy that delivers for people living on terraced streets and other high-density housing areas were people do not have drives or garages for home charging. But the council continually misses opportunities to deliver.”
“There is a lack of long-term thinking. Whether that is by failing to factor charging points into development plans like we’ve seen over the years with Uppermill Leisure Centre or the Saddleworth Museum; or whether it is by completely failing to develop a strategy for residential charging. Time is running out for the council to get this right.”
The FOI response also stated that Oldham had 102 ‘publicly available’ charging points as of March 2023.
Councillor Sykes said, “We have a key target of 3,000 charging points by 2025. Where are the rest of them coming from in the next 18 months? This is nowhere near good enough. This sort of response just makes it clear to everyone the current leadership of the council is not serious about electric vehicle charging.”