To approve free parking for up to 30 minutes for electric vehicles when parked in an electric vehicle parking space and connected to a charge point in all council car parks in order to underpin the councils commitment to achieving carbon neutrality by 2030.

That:

The new schedule of charges, as outlined in appendix 1, to include free 30 minute parking for electric vehicles when parked in electric vehicle parking spaces in all council off street car parks, is approved to take effect from 16^th March 2020.

1.         The current position remains where charges, in line with the specific car park tariff, apply at each location. This is not recommended as it fails to provide any incentive for residents to purchase an Electric Vehicle or visitors to use them.

2.         Longer free parking periods were also considered, this is not recommended as the demand for parking these vehicles within a finite number of spaces still needs to be managed. 30 minutes is sufficient period to enable electric vehicles drivers to re-charge their vehicle, stays for longer should be considered as “parked” rather than “charging”.