New electric car charging points planned across Adur and Worthing

The strategy was developed by West Sussex County Council after the government announced the sale of petrol and diesel cars would be banned from 2040 – and possibly as early as 2032.

Both Adur and Worthing have declared climate emergencies, giving themselves until 2030 to be carbon neutral – so the need for enough infrastructure to cope with this next generation of vehicles has become something of a priority.

Members of the joint strategic committee were presented with a report on Tuesday (June 9) listing 37 potential sites for charging points to be installed.

While most were in car parks, the list also included Worthing Crematorium, Southwick Community Centre, Highdown Gardens, Palatine Park and the Northbrook, Fishergate and Adur recreation grounds.

Edward Crouch (Con, Marine) said: “I think there is a chicken and egg situation with electric vehicles.

“With the ambitious targets around 2030 and the increase in availability of part or fully electric vehicles, we know that there is a demand coming along the way and there needs to be infrastructure in place to support it.”

Last year, the county council was told that 7,300 more charging points would be needed by 2030 to cater for the 161,000 electric vehicles expected to have taken to the roads.

Adur and Worthing have four between them.

So far, Arun and Horsham district councils have agreed to sign up to the strategy, with Crawley Borough Council and Mid Sussex District Council expected to do the same next week.

Members were told the county council would review the lists of potential sites received from all parties, before looking for a contractor in the summer to build the network.

A contract is expected to be drawn up in October with installation work starting by the end of the year.

Francesca Iliffe, the councils’ sustainability manager, said there would be no cost to either Adur or Worthing for joining the network and there may even benefit from a share of the income.

Both Val Turner (Con, Gaisford) and Kevin Jenkins (Con, Gaisford) asked questions about how much people would have to pay to charge their vehicles.

They were told the cost to the consumer was ‘absolutely critical’ and potential contractors would be equally judged on both the cost and quality of the service offered to residents.

In addition, the council would take independent advice from the Energy Saving Trust when it came to pricing.

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