There's just one electric vehicle charging point in Newhaven...and it's broken

Paula Woolven said: “You’d think there’d be infrastructure for charging a growing number of electric vehicles. In Newhaven (over 12,000 residents and a youthful demographic) there is one public charger in the town car park, broken since last February. In Seaford (over 23,000 residents) there is one public charger in the basement of Morrison’s carpark.

“In Peacehaven/Telscombe/Saltdean there is one public charger in the local garage, where they have just installed an Amazon collection point and barriers so one of three charging cables at a time can be used for a population of over 21,000 people.

“I have installed a charging point. I plan my journeys so I don’t run out of charge without getting back to my own charging point. For more than 50,000 people in The Havens coastal stretch there are two working public chargers. Not good enough is it?”

Cllr Matthew Bird, Cabinet Member for Sustainability at LDC, said: “I really share your frustration having driven an EV for the last 6 years and having no off-street parking to charge my car. The Energise charging points you mention were installed in 2011 with funding but unfortunately now the technology is outdated and this as well as contractual issues have meant they are impossible to get fixed. Private companies have a massive role to play in installing rapid charging points and ESCC need to install points on the road. It is an absolute priority to install new charging points in our car parks as soon as we possibly can.”

A Lewes District Council spokesman added: “We agree availability is inadequate. We are about to procure a contract enabling us to install charge points in our housing developments and on land we own. All our car parks will be assessed for viability, with installations prioritised in Lewes, Newhaven and Seaford. Existing rapid charging stations are unreliable and we will replace them with 7kW to 22kW fast charge points.”

A County Council spokesperson added: “We are developing a strategic approach to support increased take up of electric vehicles including how we might procure installing public charging points in a way that addresses the complex range of technical, legal and practical issues.”