Agreement on the need to make electric car ownership easier

Over the course of the next month the borough’s streets will see the arrival of 41 new charging points* for electric vehicles, to be distributed across 13 locations. In Putney, a rank of three are already in place on St. John’s Avenue, with one now in operation and ready for use. By the end of the year the council hopes to further the number of charge stations by 60 at 20 additional locations.


Charging points on St John's Avenue SW15

Charge points are located adjacent to parking spaces, to be used only by electric vehicles; non-electric cars and vans, or vehicles not charging whilst occupying the space are penalised.

Though currently only 1 in 700 of Britain’s automobiles are electric, purchase figures are growing steadily thanks to increased battery ranges and the growing number of charge points on our streets.

Environment spokesman Cllr Jonathan Cook, pictured above said: ‘We are making it easier for our residents to switch to more environmentally friendly motoring. We are providing the infrastructure that’s needed to make owning an electric vehicle a viable option.

‘Within a few months there will be more than 100 charging points across the borough and we are looking beyond this to extend the infrastructure even further. This is the future of motoring and we intend to play our part in making it happen.’

These installations come just a week after the government pledged to ban the sale of all petrol and diesel cars and vans by 2040. Leonie Cooper, the London Assembly Member for Wandsworth and Merton applauds the arrival of more electric vehicle charge points but says that the government’s proposals on banning petrol and diesel vehicles is ‘laughable’.

‘It was the people of Putney who brought this issue – which affects all of London – to the forefront, particularly through the work of the Putney Society who campaigned for the installation of a monitor box. But the 2040 pledge doesn’t do enough to combat what has become a health crisis. It’s too little, too late.’

She went on to say that though the increase in charge points was a step in the right direction, more needed to be done in Putney to further limit vehicle pollution through schemes such as a restriction on delivery and drop-off during rush-hour times throughout the borough.

August 1, 2017