Agenda item

23.1     Ian Glover, Electric Vehicle Infrastructure Project Manager, introduced the report, which provided an update on the procurement of the public electric vehicle (EV) on-street charge points contract and its roll out across the county. ESCC had been awarded £4.44m in Local Electric Vehicle Infrastructure (LEVI) funding from Government, and in 2024 Cabinet had agreed to procure a charge point operator using a concession model. ESCC received four bids from prospective operators and a preferred bidder had been identified, and the contract was expected to be confirmed in December 2025. The preferred bidder planned to deliver approximately 2,400 charge points across 500 locations in East Sussex. The roll-out is expected to take two to two-and-a-half years, and includes a number of rapid-charge points, including a mixed charging hub at County Hall. The bidder has agreed to deliver further funding for the project in addition to the LEVI funding and will operate the network for 15 years, after which it will revert back to the Council. ESCC had taken used an evidence-based approach to identify sites for installing charge points, in conjunction with district and borough councils and other local stakeholders. Mobilisation was due to begin soon, with installation of the points beginning in early 2026.

23.2     The Committee asked whether maintenance will be carried out by the contractor. The Electric Vehicle Infrastructure Project Manager confirmed that the provider would be responsible for maintenance and repair and there would be a specific KPI which requires the contractor to carry out repairs within a specified timeframe.

23.3     The Committee discussed how expected usage of chargers had been modelled in order to determine the locations of chargers and the needs of residents. The Electric Vehicle Infrastructure Project Manager explained that evidence-based modelling had been done to identify both on-street capacity needs of residents who do not have a driveway and cannot charge at home, as well as high-speed charging points around the county that best suited the needs of travellers. Locations had already been identified and this was reflected in the proposals from the bidders.

23.4     The Committee asked if charge points which were not well-used could become a liability when ownership of them reverts to ESCC. The Electric Vehicle Infrastructure Project Manager responded that at the end of the contract the Council had the option to either take ownership of the charge points or reprocure a supplier to manage them on the Council’s behalf. At the end of the contract it would be possible to dispose of redundant sites if necessary.

23.5     The Committee asked if charge points would be part of a multi-vendor network, which could show residents the EV charging sites and their availability. The Electric Vehicle Infrastructure Project Manager explained that the operator would only be responsible for the management of the charge points, but they would also be expected to take control of the payment platform initially. They could seek to have another operator be responsible for the payment platform, but the contract required that prices remained competitive, so it would be incumbent on the operator to manage the costs to keep prices down. The Committee suggested that the Council should seek to facilitate the operator being part of a wider network as this would help increase uptake.

23.6     The Committee discussed the location of charge points and whether the increase of on-street charges might impact accessibility on pavements for pedestrians if it resulted in more street furniture, and asked what the assessment process was for identifying locations to mitigate accessibility issues. The Committee also suggested using pavement build outs for chargers. The Electric Vehicle Infrastructure Project Manager responded that there would likely be additional street furniture as the chargers are rolled-out. The sites had been chosen with consideration to accessibility through looking at pavement width and other infrastructure so as to minimise the impact. However, it could be difficult to manage this and provide the necessary infrastructure within the parameters set by LEVI as charge-point locations were also based on existing network availability as well. It was possible that there could be build-outs, but these would location-specific, to ensure that the infrastructure is as safe and equitable as possible, including for disabled users. ESCC were doing what they could to reduce additional hazards on pedestrian routes.

23.7     The Committee asked how the roll-out of EV charge points were considered alongside the needs of all residents and if consideration was being given to increases cycle storage space, noting that bikes were a more accessible form of transport than EVs for many residents. The Director of Communities, Economy and Transport responded that one of the purposes of the Local Transport Plan (LTP) was to help with the integration of different transport needs of residents. The LTP is supported by many others plans to support delivery of this, including the Local Cycling and Walking Infrastructure Plan (LCWIP) that would help people in taking up active travel modes. £4.4m has been allocated from Government to improve EV charging infrastructure to reflect increasing take-up, and could only be spent for that purpose.

23.8     The Committee discussed trends in uptake of EVs and noted a trend in EV hybrids and newer EV vehicle models that have much longer range and don’t need as regular charging, and whether changes in technology had been factored in to planning. The Electric Vehicle Infrastructure Project Manager explained that officers had considered the potential changes of manufactures, but have stuck to the models provided by Cenex and DfT projections, rather than speculation about changes made by the wider motor industry.

23.9     The Committee noted plans for the number of charge points, including rapid charges, had increased, and asked if any of these would be installed on lampposts. The Electric Vehicle Infrastructure Project Manager explained that the number of charge points had increased since previous reports, based on the ambitious bids that had been received from prospective providers which all exceeded the initial estimates. Similarly the number of locations for rapid charge points had increased since previous reports. Lamppost charging would likely not be used as they have a low level of energy output and companies providing LEVI schemes prefer to install charge points with a higher level of output than this as it charge cars quicker.

23.10   The Committee asked if there was a possibility of ESCC profit sharing with the winning company. The Electric Vehicle Infrastructure Project Manager confirmed that all bids have put forward a concession payment that would involve the successful bidder paying an annual fee to the Council  for administration costs and to support network operations. Profit sharing was also included in three out of the four bids that have been put forward to support ongoing costs that might be required from the Council.

23.11   The Committee asked what the reasoning behind installing EV charge points in the County Hall car park were, given this may reduce the number of parking spaces and ESCC staff were unlikely to need to charge for their commutes. The Electric Vehicle Infrastructure Project Manager clarified that the County Hall car park is a public car park which residents can use, the charge points would be available for local residents, as well as staff and visitors.

23.12   The Committee RESOLVED to note the procurement process and consider and comment on the approach to the roll out of on-street public electric vehicle charge points.