Banter 79: 23Jul25 Public EV charger installation, Malcolm Bird

Malcolm relates the steps taken by Steeple Marden Parish Council in 2023 to determine the public EV chargers, installation, implementation and operation, and results since - plus things to avoid!

Video Timeline:

00:00 - 31:43 Presentation

31:43 - 64:32 (end) Q & A

Presentations:

5MB

SMPC EV chargers - Conference 19jul25.ppsx

You may download this slideshow in all its glory (recommended); please note that it is in Powepoint slideshow format, so for those who are not using Microsoft Office (eg Libre Office), you may need to use the "Open With" facility

184KB

EV Charger installation considerations.pdf

pdf

In this really useful case study document, Malcolm lays out the steps taken for success in the Steeple Morden EV charger installation, with consideration for each step through the project. (A markdown version of this document is included at the bottom of this page for AI search purposes)

Contact Information:

If you have questions to ask, please email: [email protected]

Meeting Summary:

Quick recap

Malcolm presented a detailed case study of Stephen Morton Parish Council's successful implementation of EV charging points, covering planning, installation, and operational aspects including pricing, usage patterns, and maintenance requirements. The presentation concluded with discussions about different charging technologies, implementation challenges, and potential future projects, with several participants expressing interest in similar initiatives for their own areas.

Next steps

Malcolm: Send a copy of the presentation and updated notes to Graham.
Parish councils: Consider adding community EV chargers in their parishes.
Parish councils: Conduct usage modeling and build a basic business case before implementing EV chargers.
Parish councils: Survey local residents to determine the need for EV chargers.
Parish councils: Contact local DNO to ensure power supply capability for EV chargers.
Parish clerks: Obtain the general power of competence accreditation if the parish council plans to charge for electricity.
Parish councils: Research and select appropriate charger types based on local needs and power supply availability.
Parish councils: Consider CCTV coverage for security of EV chargers.
Parish councils: Ensure proper signage and usage instructions are placed near EV chargers.
Parish councils: Regularly maintain the area around EV chargers, including trimming nearby hedges.
Parish councils: Ensure reliable internet connectivity for EV chargers and users.
Parish councils: Monitor energy prices and consider locking in reasonable-length contracts for managing costs.
Parish councils: Regularly check for faults in the EV charging system, despite automated alerts.
Parish councils: Carefully consider charger location, ensuring adequate power supply, mobile coverage, and internet connectivity.
Parish councils: Research available grants for EV charger installation.
Parish councils: Engage with local contractors for EV charger installation and management.
Parish councils: Consider using chargers with built-in Penfold protection to avoid additional earthing costs.
Parish councils: Investigate chargers capable of future "plug and charge" functionality.
Parish councils: Monitor charger faults and usage patterns regularly after installation.
Parish councils: Consider using a charger that can monitor total power draw to avoid exceeding supply limits.
Parish councils: Implement usage monitoring and analysis for their EV chargers.
Malcolm: Continue monitoring usage patterns and analyze data to identify trends in local vs visitor usage.
Parish Council: Explore ways to prevent misuse of EV charging spaces by non-charging electric vehicles.
Malcolm: Investigate the possibility of obtaining more detailed user data from the back-end provider while respecting data protection regulations.
Parish Council: Evaluate the need for additional charging ports based on current usage patterns and potential future demand.
Malcolm: Keep track of energy prices and consider adjusting charging rates if necessary to maintain cost neutrality.
Malcolm: Continue offering information and resources to other parish councils interested in implementing EV chargers.
Malcolm: Provide project briefing, survey results, and financial modeling documents to interested parties upon request at [email protected].
Parish Council: Keep abreast of changes in grant funding opportunities for EV charging infrastructure.
Parish Council: Review and potentially update pricing strategy based on current market rates and operational costs.
Malcolm: Continue analyzing data on frequent users to better understand local adoption patterns.
Parish Council: Consider promoting the EV chargers more widely to increase usage and awareness.
Weymouth Town Council: Explore EV charging options for areas lacking coverage, particularly in streets with terraced houses.
Peter: Email Malcolm for detailed project documentation and templates.
David: Visit Steeple Morden and test the EV chargers with his electric motorbike.
Cllr Helen: Email Malcolm for additional information to help engage her council on implementing EV chargers in Weymouth.
Malcolm: Share detailed information about the EV charging project with Cllr Helen for her to use in engaging her town council.
Malcolm: Provide his email address and a link to Curve 360 to the group.
Cllr Helen: Investigate more robust charging options for high deprivation areas in Weymouth.
Graham: Follow up on the possibility of implementing a booking system for the charging spaces if usage increases significantly.
Cllr Stuart: Research the differences between AC and DC charging capabilities for various EV models to better understand charging infrastructure needs.
Graham: Present the information from Malcolm's presentation to his parish council to encourage implementation of EV charging points.
Helen: Engage the rest of her council with the information provided about EV charging points and their implementation.

Summary

EV Charging Points Implementation Experience

Malcolm presented on the experience of Steeple Morden Parish Council in implementing EV charging points, starting their planning in 2022 and deploying them in 2023. The council's motivation was to support the transition to cleaner transport, provide a visual reminder of EVs' presence, and assist residents without off-street parking. After conducting a survey with a 23% response rate (81% supportive), they identified 63 premises within a 5-minute walk of the recreation ground that lacked off-street parking. Malcolm noted that while the project was not intended to be profit-driven, the financial modeling suggested it could be sustainable, with cautious pricing and careful management of costs.

Electric Vehicle Charger Selection Guide

Malcolm discussed the different types of electric vehicle chargers available, explaining that AC chargers are cheaper and simpler, while DC chargers are more expensive and typically used for rapid charging en route. He recommended a 7-kilowatt AC charger for their needs, as it doesn't require a card reader and is suitable for vehicles that can accept 11 kilowatts. Malcolm also highlighted the importance of choosing a dual-outlet, commercial-grade charger that can withstand harsh conditions, and mentioned the upcoming "Plug and Charge" standard that will simplify the charging process by allowing vehicles to automatically communicate with the charger and payment method.

EV Charging Station Implementation Plan

Malcolm discussed the implementation of an EV charging station, explaining that users would need a specific app on their phones to start and finish sessions. He described the location decision to use the recreation ground's car park, creating two new designated parking spaces for EV charging. Malcolm emphasized the need for internet connectivity, mobile coverage, and potentially CCTV for security. He decided against hiring a third-party company to manage the project, opting instead for a more hands-on approach with local contractors. The Parish Council agreed to contribute up to £4,000, with the understanding that additional grant funding would be necessary. Malcolm advised that grants are subject to change, so it's important to research current options. The next steps include contacting the local DNO to confirm the supply capacity for the village hall.

Electric Vehicle Charger Installation Overview

Malcolm discussed the installation and operation of an electric vehicle charger, highlighting key technical aspects such as power monitoring, earthing protection, and the importance of working with knowledgeable electrical contractors. He explained the role of backend processing organizations for billing and management, as well as the significance of clear signage and promoting the charger through local media and registration with platforms like Zapmap. Malcolm noted that the project, funded by grants from the DfT and South Cambridgeshire District Council, faced a delay due to grant processing but ultimately went live in March 2023, with a total cost of £13.5K and £10K in grants received.

EV Charger Project Status Review

Malcolm presented an overview of the community EV charger project, highlighting usage patterns, costs, and operational challenges. He noted that while usage has gradually increased, the system is not yet profitable, with running costs balancing revenue. Malcolm emphasized the importance of proper maintenance, data connectivity, and signage, as well as the need for the clerk to have the general power of competence to manage the charging system. He also mentioned that the charger has been used by some local residents transitioning to electric vehicles, achieving one of the project's goals.

Electric Vehicle Charging Pricing Analysis

Malcolm explained that they charge 49 pence per kilowatt hour for electric vehicle charging, which is higher than their electricity provider's rate of 22-25 pence but remains constant. He noted that about 80% of users appear to be local residents, with the remaining 20% being occasional visitors. Usage patterns vary throughout the day, with longer sessions typically occurring in the evening and overnight, while shorter sessions are more evenly distributed across the day.

EV Charging Infrastructure Overview

Malcolm presented an overview of the electric vehicle charging infrastructure installed by Stephen Warden Parish Council. He explained the installation process, usage patterns, and experiences with the system. The council used Curv 360 as the backend provider and found the setup to be seamless. Malcolm noted that the two charging ports were sufficient for the area's needs, with occasional misuse by non-electric vehicle owners. The council has not experienced significant vandalism or issues, and the system is covered by insurance. Helen, a town councillor, expressed interest in implementing a similar system in Weymouth and sought information on the tender process and costs. Malcolm shared details on the installation process and mentioned the availability of robust charging options for challenging areas.

Electric Vehicle Charging Options Discussed

Malcolm explained the differences between AC and DC charging for electric vehicles, noting that while DC charging can reach higher speeds, AC charging is more cost-effective for parish councils. He discussed the limitations of AC charging, including the need for card readers above 8 kilowatts and the fact that most cars are limited to 11 kilowatts due to their inverter capacity. The group also touched on the availability of fast-charging infrastructure and the potential for off-grid charging solutions, though Malcolm suggested these were not suitable for parish councils.

Chat:

00:26:27 Graham Stoddart-Stones - Great Collaboration Overseas Dept -host: Latest info on Plug and Charge (from 6 days ago…..): https://blog.chargemap.com/what-is-plug-and-charge/

00:54:44 Peter Bates - East Cambridgeshire Climate Action Network: Do you have a system for people to book?

00:58:29 Peter Bates - East Cambridgeshire Climate Action Network: Do you have a link for kerb360

01:00:55 Peter Bates - East Cambridgeshire Climate Action Network: Malcolm can you put the your email in the chat please

01:04:12 Peter Bates - East Cambridgeshire Climate Action Network: Electric Vehicle Chargepoint Grant for Households with On-Street Parking https://blog.chargemap.com/what-is-plug-and-charge/Deadline 3 April 2026

01:04:16 David newman (Blackbird Leys): Blink charging seems to have disappeared, turning off my nearest chargers.

01:05:57 David newman (Blackbird Leys): How about a monthly subscription giving cheap charging at night and booking slots?

01:06:59 Rachel Brody - Essex County Council: Sorry, I need to leave to go to another meeting. Great session and really interesting to hear how the PC have gone about installing. I'm from the EV team at Essex County Council and we're in the process of planning our delivery of the Local Electric Vehicle Infrastructure fund. We're keen to work with parish councils and third party land owners on installing charge points on their land. thanks

01:11:12 David newman (Blackbird Leys): I did a search. Max AC charge rates for many models are now 22 kW (depends on car size)

01:11:25 Peter Bates - East Cambridgeshire Climate Action Network: Chancellor of the Exchequer Rachel Reeves has announced a £55m boost for on-street charging https://transportandenergy.com/2025/01/29/government-accelerates-electric-vehicle-sector-investment/

Speech-to-text (for AI search)

122 00:12:18.150 --> 00:12:33.520 Graham Stoddart-Stones - Great Collaboration Overseas Dept -host: So I think nearly everybody online has been here before. But I will just mention that there is a Q&A session to follow, so please feel free to join in after that, and if you have comments or suggestions or links, then the chat

123 00:12:33.690 --> 00:12:36.729 Graham Stoddart-Stones - Great Collaboration Overseas Dept -host: column is by far the most appreciated

124 00:12:36.960 --> 00:12:47.019 Graham Stoddart-Stones - Great Collaboration Overseas Dept -host: place to put them. So thank you. So, Malcolm, we're way past the usual start time. So may I hand over to you, and perhaps you could go ahead and wow us, please.

125 00:12:49.020 --> 00:12:53.631 Malcolm Bird (Steeple Morden): Well, okay, well, we can can try. I'm not sure. So shall I start by

126 00:12:54.040 --> 00:12:56.590 Malcolm Bird (Steeple Morden): doing the share, then, and let's see.

127 00:12:56.590 --> 00:12:57.440 Graham Stoddart-Stones - Great Collaboration Overseas Dept -host: Yes.

128 00:12:57.710 --> 00:13:01.299 Malcolm Bird (Steeple Morden): Whether we get the right one here.

129 00:13:02.390 --> 00:13:05.360 Malcolm Bird (Steeple Morden): So I think it's going to be that one.

130 00:13:06.950 --> 00:13:08.859 Malcolm Bird (Steeple Morden): So has that come up with a.

131 00:13:08.860 --> 00:13:10.200 Graham Stoddart-Stones - Great Collaboration Overseas Dept -host: Yes, it's looking good.

132 00:13:10.480 --> 00:13:12.780 Malcolm Bird (Steeple Morden): That's looking good. That's encouraging, isn't it?

133 00:13:12.780 --> 00:13:13.430 Graham Stoddart-Stones - Great Collaboration Overseas Dept -host: Hmm.

134 00:13:13.640 --> 00:13:20.269 Malcolm Bird (Steeple Morden): Okay, well, thank you very much for inviting me to to talk about this. I'm aware.

135 00:13:20.860 --> 00:13:22.079 Malcolm Bird (Steeple Morden): that if you

136 00:13:22.300 --> 00:13:45.619 Malcolm Bird (Steeple Morden): Parish councils are thinking of adding a few community ev charges in their parish, and I've been contacted by a few, and we've had a chat about it which is good, but always useful to do a sort of presentation on it to help if I can. But I'm aware that we actually started looking at this at 2022

137 00:13:46.191 --> 00:13:55.160 Malcolm Bird (Steeple Morden): and implemented it in 2023. It's a rapidly changing environment. So

138 00:13:55.490 --> 00:14:08.560 Malcolm Bird (Steeple Morden): things may have changed a little. On the other hand, we can also have a little look at how things have gone and what we've learned from that. So there's pros and cons to coming at it after a couple of years.

139 00:14:08.780 --> 00:14:15.690 Malcolm Bird (Steeple Morden): So with that, let's move on if we can.

140 00:14:16.520 --> 00:14:17.235 Malcolm Bird (Steeple Morden): To

141 00:14:18.420 --> 00:14:26.440 Malcolm Bird (Steeple Morden): The 1st question that one sort of asks himself is, is, why are we doing this, and

142 00:14:26.590 --> 00:14:31.690 Malcolm Bird (Steeple Morden): when I'm talking here I'm talking on behalf of the Stephen Morton Parish Council.

143 00:14:32.626 --> 00:14:37.450 Malcolm Bird (Steeple Morden): We are tucked right at the bottom left of

144 00:14:37.570 --> 00:14:41.929 Malcolm Bird (Steeple Morden): Cambridge. Here right on the boundary with 2 other

145 00:14:42.710 --> 00:14:50.769 Malcolm Bird (Steeple Morden): councils or counties. Sorry, but our thought on Evs was that we

146 00:14:51.100 --> 00:14:55.210 Malcolm Bird (Steeple Morden): we're keen to promote the transition to cleaner transport.

147 00:14:55.390 --> 00:15:01.580 Malcolm Bird (Steeple Morden): We thought that by doing something we would show that support

148 00:15:01.750 --> 00:15:05.479 Malcolm Bird (Steeple Morden): be a visual reminder that Evs are coming.

149 00:15:06.123 --> 00:15:18.250 Malcolm Bird (Steeple Morden): We were also aware that we do have homes in the village that don't have a driveway. So by having charges in the village that might help them.

150 00:15:18.770 --> 00:15:40.470 Malcolm Bird (Steeple Morden): and we were quite clear from the outset that we didn't want to necessarily use this as a money making activity. But equally we didn't want it to become a drain on our resources either. So that was sort of the background. We we bound it around as as one of the possible projects that the Parish Council could look at.

151 00:15:40.920 --> 00:15:46.160 Malcolm Bird (Steeple Morden): and we said, yes, let's let's let's have a go. Let's see what we can. We can find.

152 00:15:48.250 --> 00:15:55.680 Malcolm Bird (Steeple Morden): That led us on to doing some usage, modeling and building a basic business case

153 00:15:56.480 --> 00:16:00.339 Malcolm Bird (Steeple Morden): to say, Well, are we likely to be able to do this at all.

154 00:16:01.100 --> 00:16:06.850 Malcolm Bird (Steeple Morden): and not have ongoing costs that ruin the Parish council.

155 00:16:07.240 --> 00:16:24.410 Malcolm Bird (Steeple Morden): And of course this is a very difficult thing to do, because you have to estimate how many cars might want to charge, how long they might want to charge for all of those sorts of things, but we felt it was a useful exercise. It got us thinking about all of the different costs involved

156 00:16:24.650 --> 00:16:28.040 Malcolm Bird (Steeple Morden): and how they they fitted together.

157 00:16:28.400 --> 00:16:45.739 Malcolm Bird (Steeple Morden): And interestingly, we, we guess that it would start quite slowly and gradually build. And so we we had a a time in in 2023, and then another look in 2030. I think we were looking at

158 00:16:46.569 --> 00:16:50.810 Malcolm Bird (Steeple Morden): to to see what it how it might grow.

159 00:16:51.650 --> 00:16:57.120 Malcolm Bird (Steeple Morden): and we were also at this stage, looking at what sort of price we might be charging

160 00:16:57.240 --> 00:17:01.100 Malcolm Bird (Steeple Morden): for the electricity, and how much we might be paying for it.

161 00:17:01.590 --> 00:17:04.940 Malcolm Bird (Steeple Morden): but that indicated to us that.

162 00:17:05.079 --> 00:17:11.749 Malcolm Bird (Steeple Morden): being fairly cautious, we could see that we could make the books balance.

163 00:17:12.510 --> 00:17:16.819 Malcolm Bird (Steeple Morden): although clearly there are some risks associated with that

164 00:17:17.427 --> 00:17:25.659 Malcolm Bird (Steeple Morden): but at the end of the day those risks, you could see weren't actually too big, so that gave us some confidence to

165 00:17:26.319 --> 00:17:36.009 Malcolm Bird (Steeple Morden): to move on. It's worth saying that we felt that they were going to be. We were going to be putting these in at the recreation ground. There was a fairly large car park there.

166 00:17:36.190 --> 00:17:52.009 Malcolm Bird (Steeple Morden): It's within a 5 min walk of quite a large number of the houses in the village, but it could be used by, therefore, the charges could be used by people who were visiting the the recreation ground, the village hall, or the sports facilities

167 00:17:53.590 --> 00:17:59.179 Malcolm Bird (Steeple Morden): and they they could also somebody could leave a car there for for longer times, if if necessary.

168 00:18:00.530 --> 00:18:12.930 Malcolm Bird (Steeple Morden): So we then thought, well, we are bound to be asked by any grant funders that we ask, you know, have we actually determined that there is a need for this?

169 00:18:13.040 --> 00:18:17.989 Malcolm Bird (Steeple Morden): So we did a survey, and we

170 00:18:18.240 --> 00:18:34.450 Malcolm Bird (Steeple Morden): think we got to all 450 households, because we actually in the end, I think, posted a little notice through everybody's door, asking people to do the survey, either by paper and returning it through the post office

171 00:18:34.700 --> 00:18:41.300 Malcolm Bird (Steeple Morden): or by doing it online, we actually got a 23% response rate

172 00:18:41.610 --> 00:19:00.869 Malcolm Bird (Steeple Morden): and 81% of those were positive they thought, Nope, that would be a good idea. And interestingly, over 50% of the respondents were saying that they were considering buying a battery electric vehicle in the next few years. So this was back in 2022. So that was quite positive.

173 00:19:02.190 --> 00:19:17.150 Malcolm Bird (Steeple Morden): And they a lot of people also recognized. They did have visitors, and their visitors were beginning to ask them, you know, was there somewhere local that they could charge their car so that also looked like a a quite a good use case as well.

174 00:19:17.910 --> 00:19:23.450 Malcolm Bird (Steeple Morden): We also determined by various means.

175 00:19:24.373 --> 00:19:34.709 Malcolm Bird (Steeple Morden): primarily wandering around and counting that there were 63 premises within a 5 min walking distance of the recreation ground that did not have

176 00:19:35.728 --> 00:19:45.290 Malcolm Bird (Steeple Morden): off street parking. So they only had on street parking, so that made them good candidates as well for for potentially using this facility.

177 00:19:46.240 --> 00:19:53.660 Malcolm Bird (Steeple Morden): So we felt that was that was all pretty positive. The question then, was, well, what shall we install?

178 00:19:53.830 --> 00:19:59.760 Malcolm Bird (Steeple Morden): And this is where it starts getting very complicated, because there are literally hundreds of

179 00:20:00.230 --> 00:20:18.390 Malcolm Bird (Steeple Morden): charges available on the market. All sorts of shapes and sizes and speeds, and so on. The crucial step is that there are A/C. Chargers and DC. Charges. The A/C. Charges are much cheaper, much simpler.

180 00:20:18.670 --> 00:20:26.010 Malcolm Bird (Steeple Morden): They tend to be the slower ones, and the DC. Chargers are the big, powerful, expensive ones.

181 00:20:27.360 --> 00:20:31.130 Malcolm Bird (Steeple Morden): And those DC charges tend to be used

182 00:20:31.490 --> 00:20:40.040 Malcolm Bird (Steeple Morden): on route charging. So they're at the motorway service stations and other big hubs where there are lots and lots of charges for people

183 00:20:40.250 --> 00:20:47.999 Malcolm Bird (Steeple Morden): moving on through the day, who therefore, need to arrive, charge for half an hour or so, and then be off on their way again.

184 00:20:48.470 --> 00:20:59.530 Malcolm Bird (Steeple Morden): We didn't feel the that that rapid charging rate, was the usage model that we were looking for, and therefore an A/C charger was going to be suitable for us.

185 00:21:00.020 --> 00:21:08.219 Malcolm Bird (Steeple Morden): If that's the case, the next step is well. Do you have a single phase, power supply, or a 3 phase power supply available?

186 00:21:08.440 --> 00:21:15.700 Malcolm Bird (Steeple Morden): If you have 3 phase, then you can have a 22 kilowatt A/C charger.

187 00:21:15.910 --> 00:21:22.540 Malcolm Bird (Steeple Morden): although most cars can only accept 11 kilowatts of A/C

188 00:21:23.219 --> 00:21:28.110 Malcolm Bird (Steeple Morden): so maybe a 22 kilowatt charger is a little bit over the top.

189 00:21:28.997 --> 00:21:34.879 Malcolm Bird (Steeple Morden): But a single phase will allow a 7 kilowatt charger. Those are the the common ones.

190 00:21:36.090 --> 00:21:37.050 Malcolm Bird (Steeple Morden): And

191 00:21:37.720 --> 00:21:49.230 Malcolm Bird (Steeple Morden): another aspect of this is that if it's less than 8 kilowatt charger. Then you don't have to have a card, reader, a credit card or

192 00:21:49.560 --> 00:21:51.169 Malcolm Bird (Steeple Morden): debit card reader

193 00:21:51.450 --> 00:21:59.300 Malcolm Bird (Steeple Morden): as a payment method, and those readers are quite expensive both to install and to operate. So

194 00:21:59.750 --> 00:22:12.300 Malcolm Bird (Steeple Morden): going for a 7 kilowatt charger is is quite sensible. If people have got a bit of time, so they're going to be on site for a few hours. Then a 7 kilowatt charger is is well suited to them.

195 00:22:12.730 --> 00:22:20.930 Malcolm Bird (Steeple Morden): But we did want a commercial grade charger, one that was going to take a bit of knocking about and standing out in the rain, and so on.

196 00:22:21.240 --> 00:22:26.900 Malcolm Bird (Steeple Morden): We wanted more than one outlet. So we were looking for a dual outlet charger.

197 00:22:28.210 --> 00:22:31.419 Malcolm Bird (Steeple Morden): and we wanted it to be easy to use.

198 00:22:32.790 --> 00:22:46.219 Malcolm Bird (Steeple Morden): I've also, I've mentioned at this point the charging method, and if any of you have a battery electric vehicle, you'll know how annoying it is that you can't just rock up to a charger

199 00:22:46.430 --> 00:22:50.070 Malcolm Bird (Steeple Morden): and always use a credit card or

200 00:22:50.520 --> 00:22:55.810 Malcolm Bird (Steeple Morden): an app, or anything else. It tends to be a complete variety of methods.

201 00:22:56.390 --> 00:23:10.399 Malcolm Bird (Steeple Morden): Now there is a standard coming along that is going to sort this out. It's part of Iso 15, 1, 1, 8, and it's called plug and charge. And what it will mean is that

202 00:23:10.980 --> 00:23:19.059 Malcolm Bird (Steeple Morden): a person in a car will register the card, register the car to a card.

203 00:23:19.220 --> 00:23:31.819 Malcolm Bird (Steeple Morden): and so when that car comes to a charger and they plug it in the car and the charger know where the money is going to come from, so nothing else needs to happen.

204 00:23:32.130 --> 00:23:39.340 Malcolm Bird (Steeple Morden): Now, if anybody has a Tesla, they will know that. That is how that works. And it's a very, very simple experience.

205 00:23:39.470 --> 00:23:43.629 Malcolm Bird (Steeple Morden): Other cars at the moment don't typically have that.

206 00:23:43.870 --> 00:23:57.820 Malcolm Bird (Steeple Morden): And the charges can't yet support it. So it is a future, although it is beginning to happen. There are something like 20 manufacturers now building their Bevs with the right software installed.

207 00:23:57.950 --> 00:24:23.889 Malcolm Bird (Steeple Morden): and when you are buying a charger, it's worth asking whether it is going to be capable of running plug and charge in the future, because surely that must be the way of going literally turn up plug in nothing to do, no cards to tap, no apps to use nothing else. So it looks like a very good future, but we're not quite there yet. Be ready for it.

208 00:24:24.270 --> 00:24:45.750 Malcolm Bird (Steeple Morden): In the meantime you'll have to do something else, and we didn't want to go with installing a card, reader. So we have had to accept that users have to have a particular app on their phone, and from that app they can start a session and finish a session, and and so on.

209 00:24:47.190 --> 00:24:51.510 Malcolm Bird (Steeple Morden): So that's worthy of thought, and maybe worth a discussion. A little later on.

210 00:24:53.570 --> 00:25:07.320 Malcolm Bird (Steeple Morden): next question was where to locate it, and I said we were going to put this up at our recreation ground. We have quite a large car park there already, but we know that at times it becomes very full.

211 00:25:07.610 --> 00:25:23.390 Malcolm Bird (Steeple Morden): especially when there are football matches and tennis matches and things on, so we didn't want to go and use some of that space and have people complaining at us that we had made the car park smaller.

212 00:25:23.530 --> 00:25:27.550 Malcolm Bird (Steeple Morden): So we opened up 2 new parking spaces

213 00:25:27.730 --> 00:25:33.440 Malcolm Bird (Steeple Morden): and label those, as you know. Please leave these for ev charging.

214 00:25:33.730 --> 00:25:41.340 Malcolm Bird (Steeple Morden): and I think that's that was pretty well received and has been reasonably well

215 00:25:41.510 --> 00:25:44.620 Malcolm Bird (Steeple Morden): adhered to. We haven't had too many people

216 00:25:45.230 --> 00:25:48.659 Malcolm Bird (Steeple Morden): going and parking in these slots when when they really shouldn't.

217 00:25:48.980 --> 00:25:53.000 Malcolm Bird (Steeple Morden): But of course these locations need to be

218 00:25:53.190 --> 00:25:55.850 Malcolm Bird (Steeple Morden): near enough to a power supply.

219 00:25:56.210 --> 00:26:08.250 Malcolm Bird (Steeple Morden): You do need to have mobile coverage or Wi-fi coverage, and they need you need to be able to get Internet to them because the charges will need to be online.

220 00:26:08.490 --> 00:26:23.819 Malcolm Bird (Steeple Morden): Some of them can operate through a mobile SIM card that you could pop in there. But that's never particularly reliable. So my recommendation would always be to run a data cable from a source of the Internet.

221 00:26:24.330 --> 00:26:37.839 Malcolm Bird (Steeple Morden): and the other consideration would be, you know, have you got CCTV. Where you're going to do this? If so, you know, it's useful to make sure there is a camera pointed in the in the right direction, just in case something should ever happen.

222 00:26:39.060 --> 00:26:42.139 Malcolm Bird (Steeple Morden): So that dealt with our you know where to locate.

223 00:26:42.792 --> 00:27:01.030 Malcolm Bird (Steeple Morden): Then it came down to Well, how how do you get around doing this and the the major question is, well, do you just get organized with the company to do it all? Or do you try and run the process yourself and and get contractors in.

224 00:27:01.660 --> 00:27:07.519 Malcolm Bird (Steeple Morden): There are organizations that will just come out. Have a look at your environment.

225 00:27:07.640 --> 00:27:12.590 Malcolm Bird (Steeple Morden): make a guess themselves at a business case and take the whole thing on.

226 00:27:12.900 --> 00:27:16.420 Malcolm Bird (Steeple Morden): they will run it all, and so on.

227 00:27:16.620 --> 00:27:22.520 Malcolm Bird (Steeple Morden): They sometimes need some payments or some guarantee of payment.

228 00:27:23.224 --> 00:27:30.830 Malcolm Bird (Steeple Morden): But sometimes, if they think there really is a very good opportunity there, then they might be prepared to do it without chance for the

229 00:27:31.010 --> 00:27:51.119 Malcolm Bird (Steeple Morden): Parish council. So it's worth considering that. But our view was that after talking to a few of them, it was quite clear that we were going to totally lose any control of it. They were just going to do what they were going to do, and that might suit some. We decided we wanted a little bit more hands on than that.

230 00:27:52.124 --> 00:28:00.190 Malcolm Bird (Steeple Morden): So we we decided that we would engage with contractors, and we would manage the process ourselves.

231 00:28:00.390 --> 00:28:06.820 Malcolm Bird (Steeple Morden): Luckily, local contractors, we we found were were very helpful, very keen, to to do it, very keen to help

232 00:28:07.290 --> 00:28:18.529 Malcolm Bird (Steeple Morden): the P. The Parish Council at this stage said, Okay, we've done enough research. We know what we want to do. We know how we want to do it. We'll contribute. We can contribute up to 4,000 pounds, but

233 00:28:18.640 --> 00:28:24.479 Malcolm Bird (Steeple Morden): it's going to cost more than that. So we knew that grant funding was going to be a requirement.

234 00:28:24.740 --> 00:28:30.449 Malcolm Bird (Steeple Morden): and that was one of the the next steps to to work out exactly

235 00:28:30.680 --> 00:28:32.410 Malcolm Bird (Steeple Morden): what was around at the time.

236 00:28:35.400 --> 00:28:50.919 Malcolm Bird (Steeple Morden): It became clear, by the way, that we'll come on to grants a little bit more in in a moment that grants are around. But they they're changing. So you have to make sure that you understand what's available at anyone on time.

237 00:28:51.700 --> 00:29:00.739 Malcolm Bird (Steeple Morden): So we then get on to the sort of project planning, and so on. We knew that we needed to contact the local dno

238 00:29:01.366 --> 00:29:06.259 Malcolm Bird (Steeple Morden): to to make sure that our supply that was, in fact, coming to

239 00:29:06.490 --> 00:29:11.670 Malcolm Bird (Steeple Morden): relatively the village Hall was capable of supplying us

240 00:29:12.169 --> 00:29:16.959 Malcolm Bird (Steeple Morden): and therefore you need to make sure this is a 100 amp supply coming in.

241 00:29:18.200 --> 00:29:19.270 Malcolm Bird (Steeple Morden): The

242 00:29:19.550 --> 00:29:35.170 Malcolm Bird (Steeple Morden): that reminds me of something. On on choosing a charger, you will find that some chargers are able to monitor that total power being drawn from the grid, and if

243 00:29:35.310 --> 00:29:36.300 Malcolm Bird (Steeple Morden): other

244 00:29:36.740 --> 00:29:58.840 Malcolm Bird (Steeple Morden): users of that power supply are drawing quite a lot, perhaps they've got ovens on doing other things, then the Ev charger can cut itself back in what it provides to a car, so that you never exceed a particular limit you can set, and so we made sure that we had a charger that could do that.

245 00:29:59.680 --> 00:30:10.609 Malcolm Bird (Steeple Morden): We have never seen it had to actually cut back and and not deliver its full full amperage. But it has that capability. Should anybody stop being

246 00:30:11.480 --> 00:30:14.490 Malcolm Bird (Steeple Morden): or taking quite a load on on the system.

247 00:30:14.910 --> 00:30:43.069 Malcolm Bird (Steeple Morden): earthing comes into it as well. If you don't find a charger that has Penfold protection built in, then you can end up spending quite a lot of money on putting extra earthing protection into the system, whereas these Penfold protected charges just deal with all of that again, having an electrical contractor who knows what they're talking about and knows they can have that discussion with the charger providers is useful.

248 00:30:44.039 --> 00:30:55.209 Malcolm Bird (Steeple Morden): We did give written design briefs to each of the contractors to to make sure they knew what we were wanting them to do and making sure things weren't falling down cracks.

249 00:30:57.130 --> 00:31:05.080 Malcolm Bird (Steeple Morden): you also have to find, what is called a back end processing organization. So this is somebody that will

250 00:31:05.260 --> 00:31:13.159 Malcolm Bird (Steeple Morden): basically be monitoring the charger all the time. And when somebody comes up to it and says, Right, I want to charge.

251 00:31:13.480 --> 00:31:25.950 Malcolm Bird (Steeple Morden): They are the people that make sure that the there is money to be had. They take that money, they watch how much power has been taken, and so on, and so the charger

252 00:31:26.070 --> 00:31:38.540 Malcolm Bird (Steeple Morden): should work with what's called ocpp, and as long as it does, then there are quite a few back end processes that you can choose from to actually do all of the billing and management for you.

253 00:31:39.330 --> 00:31:46.369 Malcolm Bird (Steeple Morden): They do take a small percentage of the amount of of power money that's collected for the power.

254 00:31:46.866 --> 00:31:49.799 Malcolm Bird (Steeple Morden): But we felt that it was. That was

255 00:31:50.110 --> 00:31:57.479 Malcolm Bird (Steeple Morden): well, it was a necessary part of the of the process, and I must say that that has gone very smoothly.

256 00:31:58.753 --> 00:32:09.489 Malcolm Bird (Steeple Morden): Another thing that we didn't sort of think about until quite late was just just how useful it is to have clear signage and usage instructions around.

257 00:32:09.670 --> 00:32:19.940 Malcolm Bird (Steeple Morden): So because we are on the recreation ground, we have now put a sign up on the near the road, saying, there are charges available up here.

258 00:32:20.610 --> 00:32:31.230 Malcolm Bird (Steeple Morden): and then actually at the site itself, a set of instructions, so that people know which app they have to have, and then, once they've got it, how to use that app.

259 00:32:32.890 --> 00:32:46.670 Malcolm Bird (Steeple Morden): The other aspect is that it's worth promoting, and you can promote it locally in newsletters and social medias, and so on. But also you submit details of your charger once it's operational

260 00:32:46.670 --> 00:33:06.719 Malcolm Bird (Steeple Morden): to various organizations. Now, there used to be a National Charge Point Registry, and it was usually a requirement of any grant funding that you made your charge available on the National Charge Point Registry. I believe that has now closed. Not quite sure why that is.

261 00:33:06.730 --> 00:33:20.420 Malcolm Bird (Steeple Morden): But there are other organizations like electroverse and Zap map who have basically taken on that function. You notify them that you've got a charger available for the public and consumer use.

262 00:33:20.520 --> 00:33:33.360 Malcolm Bird (Steeple Morden): and they will put it onto their system. And people that own battery, electric vehicles typically have zap map with them, and so they can always find out where chargers are.

263 00:33:34.970 --> 00:33:52.210 Malcolm Bird (Steeple Morden): so other than that the project did run reasonably to plan the black line in the middle of that gantt chart was an interesting delay, and that was basically a delay of a few months whilst the grant funders

264 00:33:52.710 --> 00:33:57.317 Malcolm Bird (Steeple Morden): sorted out their their funding mechanisms and so on.

265 00:33:58.650 --> 00:34:06.109 Malcolm Bird (Steeple Morden): I think that was because we were quite early with a couple of the grants that we were using, and they hadn't quite worked out

266 00:34:06.750 --> 00:34:18.650 Malcolm Bird (Steeple Morden): how they were going to process it all. But eventually we got there and we're able to pick up and and complete the project, and it actually went live, I think, in March 23,

267 00:34:19.850 --> 00:34:31.460 Malcolm Bird (Steeple Morden): just to talk a little bit about the Grant support. At the time there was an on-street residential charge points, scheme being run by the dft

268 00:34:31.659 --> 00:34:34.970 Malcolm Bird (Steeple Morden): actually administered by the Energy Savings Trust

269 00:34:35.219 --> 00:34:43.190 Malcolm Bird (Steeple Morden): and that was very useful to us. There are, as I understand it, other

270 00:34:43.760 --> 00:34:48.329 Malcolm Bird (Steeple Morden): replacements for that now. So it's definitely worth looking to see.

271 00:34:48.860 --> 00:34:57.870 Malcolm Bird (Steeple Morden): We also have support from South Cams District Council, and I know that scheme is still running. So that's well worthwhile.

272 00:34:59.645 --> 00:35:04.309 Malcolm Bird (Steeple Morden): Interestingly, the Orcs grant

273 00:35:04.450 --> 00:35:25.290 Malcolm Bird (Steeple Morden): not pay for the provision of the parking spaces themselves, whereas South County District Council didn't really mind where their grant was used in the provision of the electric vehicle charger. So, having that combination of grants did mean that we could cover our costs

274 00:35:25.580 --> 00:35:26.540 Malcolm Bird (Steeple Morden): well.

275 00:35:27.650 --> 00:35:34.360 Malcolm Bird (Steeple Morden): And they did typically want to be recognized. And so we had to make sure that all of our signage

276 00:35:34.860 --> 00:35:44.039 Malcolm Bird (Steeple Morden): had the the correct Logos, and so on on them. And basically we were quite happy to support the supporters of us

277 00:35:45.270 --> 00:35:57.289 Malcolm Bird (Steeple Morden): in total. The project did come out to 13 and a half K. We were awarded 10 k. In grants, so that was then within the the top up that the Parish Council approved.

278 00:35:57.470 --> 00:36:06.010 Malcolm Bird (Steeple Morden): So we got across the line, and it, as I say, went live in March 23.

279 00:36:07.610 --> 00:36:16.019 Malcolm Bird (Steeple Morden): So how have things gone? Now, this is an an analysis up until May 25.

280 00:36:16.830 --> 00:36:29.010 Malcolm Bird (Steeple Morden): The purple line is looking at the total number of kilowatt hours that are being sold every month.

281 00:36:30.170 --> 00:36:33.750 Malcolm Bird (Steeple Morden): and we look at. We've also got there. The number of

282 00:36:34.130 --> 00:36:40.730 Malcolm Bird (Steeple Morden): sessions there are in each month, and the average number of kilowatt hours per session.

283 00:36:41.490 --> 00:36:51.900 Malcolm Bird (Steeple Morden): Now, can you actually make much sense of it all. It's difficult. The usage levels are not that high. We get 10 to 20.

284 00:36:52.060 --> 00:36:56.920 Malcolm Bird (Steeple Morden): Use uses a month of it. It is gradually going up.

285 00:36:57.350 --> 00:37:10.539 Malcolm Bird (Steeple Morden): But what is was noticeable certainly over the opening months was that it went from people just experimenting and connecting to see whether they could, and just taking a kilowatt hour or 2

286 00:37:10.650 --> 00:37:18.490 Malcolm Bird (Steeple Morden): to sessions that were much longer with people drawing 50 or 60 kilowatt hours at one go

287 00:37:20.110 --> 00:37:31.840 Malcolm Bird (Steeple Morden): And another thing we have noticed is that some users come quite regularly and then just and have

288 00:37:32.010 --> 00:37:36.989 Malcolm Bird (Steeple Morden): reasoning of that, we think, is that there are some locals who are

289 00:37:37.170 --> 00:37:48.479 Malcolm Bird (Steeple Morden): buying a battery electric vehicle. They're using the community chargers for a while, but after a few months they've managed to organize themselves. They've got their own charger installed at home.

290 00:37:48.630 --> 00:37:52.239 Malcolm Bird (Steeple Morden): So they don't need to use the community charges anymore.

291 00:37:52.970 --> 00:38:08.389 Malcolm Bird (Steeple Morden): If that is correct, and and we know from one or 2 occasions that is correct, then then that's excellent. You know, we have managed to achieve one of our goals. We are helping people in that in that transition across to to a battery electric vehicle.

292 00:38:11.380 --> 00:38:19.140 Malcolm Bird (Steeple Morden): Back in August 23. You'll say that I've marked there a fault occurred, and

293 00:38:19.340 --> 00:38:31.329 Malcolm Bird (Steeple Morden): interestingly, despite it all set up so that we are supposed to be alerted. If there is a fault, it suddenly became apparent that the charges weren't operational.

294 00:38:31.500 --> 00:38:34.530 Malcolm Bird (Steeple Morden): although the systems were saying they were

295 00:38:35.551 --> 00:38:43.500 Malcolm Bird (Steeple Morden): we got it. As soon as that was realized it was fixed very quickly by the manufacturers of the the charger itself.

296 00:38:45.230 --> 00:38:50.479 Malcolm Bird (Steeple Morden): And since then it's it has actually worked without a problem.

297 00:38:51.010 --> 00:38:58.910 Malcolm Bird (Steeple Morden): But it's interesting that it took quite a while after that fault was repaired.

298 00:38:59.480 --> 00:39:10.570 Malcolm Bird (Steeple Morden): Usage to sort of pick up. And it's amazing, isn't it, that you only want one bit of trouble, and you need probably 10 bits of good news to overcome the one bit of trouble

299 00:39:10.970 --> 00:39:19.609 Malcolm Bird (Steeple Morden): so well worthwhile trying to really manage and watch and make sure that they are maintained. Well.

300 00:39:20.750 --> 00:39:29.319 Malcolm Bird (Steeple Morden): so I think that's most of the things there. I would say that it's not a profitable

301 00:39:29.964 --> 00:39:34.979 Malcolm Bird (Steeple Morden): exercise. We we found over the time that basically the amount of money we have

302 00:39:35.240 --> 00:39:39.870 Malcolm Bird (Steeple Morden): acquired from the users of the system have just about balanced the the costs.

303 00:39:40.220 --> 00:39:54.999 Malcolm Bird (Steeple Morden): and it's noticeable that there are running costs in that. The charger does sip a little bit of electricity all the time, whether it's being used or not, that's keeping its screen alive and and running a few other things.

304 00:39:55.543 --> 00:40:08.250 Malcolm Bird (Steeple Morden): But that background usage, the how much power that it draws when it's not being used is probably another thing to put on the list of things to check. When you, when you buy a charger unit.

305 00:40:10.137 --> 00:40:14.902 Malcolm Bird (Steeple Morden): A few things that tripped us up on the way, or things that we had to

306 00:40:15.570 --> 00:40:30.670 Malcolm Bird (Steeple Morden): recognize was that if you, as a Parish Council are going to start charging people for electricity. Then the clerk has to have the general power of competence in their accreditation.

307 00:40:30.810 --> 00:40:32.000 Malcolm Bird (Steeple Morden): and

308 00:40:32.700 --> 00:40:42.630 Malcolm Bird (Steeple Morden): Clark was sort of 90% of the way through their accreditation, and we had to just nudge them across the line to make sure that we could actually do that.

309 00:40:42.960 --> 00:40:45.599 Malcolm Bird (Steeple Morden): or start charging for electricity.

310 00:40:46.130 --> 00:40:56.649 Malcolm Bird (Steeple Morden): So that's 1 thing to look at, and of course you can, as a parish council lose that if you ever change your clerk, and the next one you get in isn't accredited. So something to be aware of

311 00:40:58.168 --> 00:41:07.330 Malcolm Bird (Steeple Morden): signage I've already mentioned. We we felt it necessary and useful to put a sign up on the road saying charges this way.

312 00:41:07.500 --> 00:41:31.489 Malcolm Bird (Steeple Morden): but of course it's never simple to put a sign up on a lamppost or something that's owned by somebody else. And so we'd have to go through various approval processes which which went through the normal fun and games of Oh, we didn't even know we had a lamppost there, and all these sorts of things. And no, we don't know what type of lamp post it is, so we don't know whether it will support a sign

313 00:41:32.091 --> 00:41:38.779 Malcolm Bird (Steeple Morden): but luckily South Cams District Council finally saw sense and allowed us to put a relatively small sign up

314 00:41:39.973 --> 00:41:46.699 Malcolm Bird (Steeple Morden): obviously, energy price energy pricing is going up and down so that can be a bit of a hazard

315 00:41:47.336 --> 00:41:53.299 Malcolm Bird (Steeple Morden): but by locking in for reasonable length contracts that that's been managed. Okay.

316 00:41:53.930 --> 00:42:14.550 Malcolm Bird (Steeple Morden): security CCTV coverage and stuff. It has proven useful. Luckily we haven't had any problems of vandalism or anything with the chargers. But other things that are going on on the recreation ground. The fact that we've got Cct coverage does definitely find its uses.

317 00:42:15.747 --> 00:42:32.120 Malcolm Bird (Steeple Morden): I've mentioned data coverage in in the back. But the the equipment does need to be connected. And not only that, it's obviously very useful for for the mobile users, the people that are coming to charge. They they're going to use an app, so they need to have coverage.

318 00:42:32.646 --> 00:42:43.569 Malcolm Bird (Steeple Morden): We do luckily have free Wi-fi available in the area, and that is rather necessary, because the mobile data coverage is is very, very poor in our recreation ground.

319 00:42:45.325 --> 00:42:47.289 Malcolm Bird (Steeple Morden): I've mentioned maintenance

320 00:42:47.881 --> 00:43:03.249 Malcolm Bird (Steeple Morden): of of the unit itself. But we did put the charger right up against a hedge, and it soon became apparent that that was something that we needed to put onto the maintenance list as well. Making sure you cut the hedge back. So it

321 00:43:03.600 --> 00:43:06.289 Malcolm Bird (Steeple Morden): actually is. Is this remains visible.

322 00:43:07.260 --> 00:43:18.100 Malcolm Bird (Steeple Morden): So I think that's the the most of the information there. Very happy to take questions, and we have got a little handout

323 00:43:18.220 --> 00:43:24.640 Malcolm Bird (Steeple Morden): where we go through a lot of those sorts of considerations, things that we thought about, and

324 00:43:24.770 --> 00:43:30.619 Malcolm Bird (Steeple Morden): if anybody's interest in in the project briefing we gave to the contractors

325 00:43:30.950 --> 00:43:50.809 Malcolm Bird (Steeple Morden): the survey that we did, and what the analysis of that was the modelling that we did all of those sorts of things. If any of that is used to people, then just do email me on Evcharges at Stevenmorden, pcgov.uk, and I'll pop something through to you.

326 00:43:51.280 --> 00:43:54.869 Malcolm Bird (Steeple Morden): But other than that. Yes, the

327 00:43:55.010 --> 00:43:59.700 Malcolm Bird (Steeple Morden): charges are up and running, and are being used so

328 00:43:59.820 --> 00:44:03.470 Malcolm Bird (Steeple Morden): many thanks, and very happy to take questions.

329 00:44:04.880 --> 00:44:14.589 Graham Stoddart-Stones - Great Collaboration Overseas Dept -host: Thank you very much, Malcolm. That was fascinating. I've got a whole bunch of questions for you, but I'll give priority to those people who have raised their hands

330 00:44:14.820 --> 00:44:19.150 Graham Stoddart-Stones - Great Collaboration Overseas Dept -host: would like to talk about it. So let's go with Peter. 1st of all, please.

331 00:44:21.700 --> 00:44:23.470 Graham Stoddart-Stones - Great Collaboration Overseas Dept -host: You're on mute, Peter.

332 00:44:26.140 --> 00:44:55.508 Peter Bates - East Cambridgeshire Climate Action Network: Thank you, Malcolm. That was very interesting, that. And yeah, I will ask if I for all those details which you have, because, you know it's great to have a template to be able to show to other kind of parishes in that respect. Few questions. What do you charge? And how much does it cost you? In other words, you know, how? Yeah, what are you paying for yours? As the 1st couple of questions.

333 00:44:57.060 --> 00:45:04.989 Malcolm Bird (Steeple Morden): Okay? Well, well, it's very simple. We set it in the early days at 49 pence per kilowatt hour.

334 00:45:05.540 --> 00:45:14.439 Malcolm Bird (Steeple Morden): and and we looked around at what others locally were doing, and so on. That seemed to to map in reasonably well.

335 00:45:16.015 --> 00:45:22.559 Malcolm Bird (Steeple Morden): At the time we were being charged 29 pence a kilowatt hour.

336 00:45:23.602 --> 00:45:36.149 Malcolm Bird (Steeple Morden): By the by, our electricity provider that has since we managed to negotiate it down, but we have held 49 pence per kilowatt hour, so it's remained constant.

337 00:45:36.850 --> 00:45:42.651 Malcolm Bird (Steeple Morden): There is an interesting little extra on that, and that is that

338 00:45:44.930 --> 00:45:53.947 Malcolm Bird (Steeple Morden): Back end provider did a deal with electroverse, which is part of octopus

339 00:45:55.260 --> 00:46:01.990 Malcolm Bird (Steeple Morden): and electroverse have done deals with many, many charge charging companies.

340 00:46:02.140 --> 00:46:06.400 Malcolm Bird (Steeple Morden): so that you can use their app to start and stop the charger.

341 00:46:06.620 --> 00:46:14.519 Malcolm Bird (Steeple Morden): and if you do that, then somehow or other, electroverse customers only pay 39 pence a unit.

342 00:46:15.380 --> 00:46:18.909 Malcolm Bird (Steeple Morden): But we still get 49 pence

343 00:46:20.395 --> 00:46:29.889 Malcolm Bird (Steeple Morden): so quite how that works. I'm not too sure but we don't ask too many questions. Those people with the lecture reverse cards fine.

344 00:46:30.890 --> 00:46:32.970 Malcolm Bird (Steeple Morden): So that's a bit. It's a bit strange.

345 00:46:33.430 --> 00:46:46.079 Malcolm Bird (Steeple Morden): But hopefully, that answers your question. So we're, we're, I think, around 2225 pence a unit at the moment that we're being charged by our electricity provider. It varies night and day.

346 00:46:47.170 --> 00:47:00.190 Malcolm Bird (Steeple Morden): and so if people are charging up overnight, we make a little bit more than we do if they charge during the day. We we don't try. We could, but we don't put differential pricing on at all.

347 00:47:01.550 --> 00:47:11.510 Malcolm Bird (Steeple Morden): And it is quite common that people who are running it for several hours, do come up quite late at night, plug in, and then pick it up 1st thing in the morning.

348 00:47:11.980 --> 00:47:13.089 Malcolm Bird (Steeple Morden): which is fine.

349 00:47:13.430 --> 00:47:41.430 Peter Bates - East Cambridgeshire Climate Action Network: Yeah. And then leading on to to that is the users. How do they actually use it? In terms of how to play it in. I mean more than that. You know. What's the pattern of usage in terms of, you know? Are they actually local people? Are there visitors that. Come along. What time is, you know, day and whatever I mean, you know. Sorry

350 00:47:43.620 --> 00:47:55.809 Malcolm Bird (Steeple Morden): Let's see, it's total. As far as we can see. It's a total mix. I mean, it's difficult to know what we do get is, we know, the last 4 digits

351 00:47:55.980 --> 00:48:00.569 Malcolm Bird (Steeple Morden): of the card that somebody has used to charge with.

352 00:48:00.730 --> 00:48:02.609 Peter Bates - East Cambridgeshire Climate Action Network: So using that.

353 00:48:02.770 --> 00:48:07.150 Malcolm Bird (Steeple Morden): We know how frequently people come.

354 00:48:07.360 --> 00:48:10.749 Malcolm Bird (Steeple Morden): and what we find is that there are perhaps

355 00:48:11.410 --> 00:48:25.059 Malcolm Bird (Steeple Morden): 4 or 5 cards being used quite, quite frequently, and some of them then become, you know, quite, really, quite heavy. So they're perhaps twice a week they're the same one, putting in

356 00:48:25.220 --> 00:48:49.070 Malcolm Bird (Steeple Morden): 2030 kilowatt hours each time, and then, as I say, they'll suddenly disappear, they'll go. And so the fact that they've been there for several months doing that and then suddenly disappear suggests to us. They probably are local, and suggest to us that they probably now found another source, probably at their house to do it, or or maybe their work has put in a charger or something.

357 00:48:49.714 --> 00:48:57.805 Malcolm Bird (Steeple Morden): Others are just cards that we see once and never see again. And and well, those, I guess are visitors.

358 00:48:58.710 --> 00:48:59.930 Malcolm Bird (Steeple Morden): to the area.

359 00:49:00.240 --> 00:49:04.140 Peter Bates - East Cambridgeshire Climate Action Network: What? Any idea, what percentage of those you know

360 00:49:04.300 --> 00:49:09.330 Peter Bates - East Cambridgeshire Climate Action Network: who you suspect are local compared to the one off.

361 00:49:10.550 --> 00:49:17.790 Malcolm Bird (Steeple Morden): I would say, it's it's 80% local people and and 20%. One offs something like that.

362 00:49:17.790 --> 00:49:28.660 Peter Bates - East Cambridgeshire Climate Action Network: And of course it would be logical if if you're charging 49 pence and and if they have got a charger in their own home. It they could get it for 7 pence.

363 00:49:28.660 --> 00:49:32.469 Malcolm Bird (Steeple Morden): Yes, yes, yes, far, far cheaper. On the other hand.

364 00:49:32.990 --> 00:49:44.569 Malcolm Bird (Steeple Morden): whilst we have kept at 49 pence, I think the national average for a 7 kilowatt charger is is now something like 56, or something, so we are lower than than

365 00:49:45.230 --> 00:49:49.238 Peter Bates - East Cambridgeshire Climate Action Network: Yeah, although it is, it will seem to be going down, because I know you know

366 00:49:49.740 --> 00:49:54.980 Malcolm Bird (Steeple Morden): Well, that that's really why we haven't changed. It is. It does drift up and drift down so.

367 00:49:55.270 --> 00:49:59.499 Peter Bates - East Cambridgeshire Climate Action Network: Any terms of over the period of of 24 h?

368 00:50:00.344 --> 00:50:03.579 Peter Bates - East Cambridgeshire Climate Action Network: You know. Is there a lot more usage

369 00:50:04.080 --> 00:50:11.910 Peter Bates - East Cambridgeshire Climate Action Network: at night, or is it more? Is there more usage when there's likely to be some activities going on at the recreation field?

370 00:50:12.640 --> 00:50:15.280 Malcolm Bird (Steeple Morden): Yes, any time of the day.

371 00:50:15.280 --> 00:50:21.179 Malcolm Bird (Steeple Morden): It's yes, it is. It is a mix. The the long sessions do tend to be late evening

372 00:50:21.430 --> 00:50:27.110 Malcolm Bird (Steeple Morden): and an overnight, but not always.

373 00:50:27.350 --> 00:50:33.579 Malcolm Bird (Steeple Morden): and then the shorter sessions tend to be just during the day. But but some of those are 1st thing in the morning.

374 00:50:33.800 --> 00:50:35.849 Malcolm Bird (Steeple Morden): Some are middle of the day, and

375 00:50:36.420 --> 00:50:38.600 Malcolm Bird (Steeple Morden): later, I mean, it is very variable.

376 00:50:38.800 --> 00:50:53.099 Peter Bates - East Cambridgeshire Climate Action Network: This one last follow up question to that is in terms of, are you not able to get that data from whoever manages the system, or you? The company manages it. Is that not? Is that not? Is that difficult to get hold of?

377 00:50:54.310 --> 00:50:57.310 Malcolm Bird (Steeple Morden): What? What? Who? Who a user actually is.

378 00:50:57.780 --> 00:50:58.450 Peter Bates - East Cambridgeshire Climate Action Network: Yes.

379 00:50:58.450 --> 00:51:00.189 Malcolm Bird (Steeple Morden): Where they live, and so on.

380 00:51:00.560 --> 00:51:05.840 Malcolm Bird (Steeple Morden): No, I don't think so. I think it's all. You're all data protected on all of this.

381 00:51:07.200 --> 00:51:25.760 Malcolm Bird (Steeple Morden): I mean we've we've got CCTV. We can see what registration numbers there are. You know. You could do all sorts of things if you wanted to, but we we don't do that. We do analyze a little bit this, these last 4 digits of the of the card number, just because that identifies a particular user.

382 00:51:26.260 --> 00:51:33.100 Malcolm Bird (Steeple Morden): But I mean they could eat that they could be bringing up 2 2 vehicles we don't know haven't haven't looked at that.

383 00:51:34.680 --> 00:51:38.470 Malcolm Bird (Steeple Morden): So we haven't really analyzed it. More than that.

384 00:51:40.410 --> 00:51:45.100 Graham Stoddart-Stones - Great Collaboration Overseas Dept -host: Thanks, Peter. Thank you, Malcolm. Can we go on to David? Please.

385 00:51:49.870 --> 00:51:50.610 David newman (Blackbird Leys): Yes.

386 00:51:53.150 --> 00:52:00.189 David newman (Blackbird Leys): the obvious way to find out about it is to ride to steeple Morden and plug in my electric motorbike.

387 00:52:00.780 --> 00:52:02.510 Graham Stoddart-Stones - Great Collaboration Overseas Dept -host: In the meantime.

388 00:52:02.860 --> 00:52:06.869 David newman (Blackbird Leys): I noticed that that picture you showed us is on plugshare.

389 00:52:07.630 --> 00:52:14.760 David newman (Blackbird Leys): but they don't seem to be anyone bothering to record on Plugshare or Zapmap if they've used it.

390 00:52:16.030 --> 00:52:16.950 David newman (Blackbird Leys): I was.

391 00:52:18.790 --> 00:52:38.639 David newman (Blackbird Leys): I was wondering if you'd done a follow up of your survey at all in terms of acceptance. And are there, people using it, and this question about whether they've gone and got their own charger. Now they've got a a car, and so on, which might be easiest, just asking people.

392 00:52:41.200 --> 00:52:42.160 Malcolm Bird (Steeple Morden): We haven't.

393 00:52:43.890 --> 00:52:44.980 Malcolm Bird (Steeple Morden): We?

394 00:52:45.200 --> 00:52:48.510 Malcolm Bird (Steeple Morden): How sort of of the view that it is.

395 00:52:48.690 --> 00:52:50.440 Malcolm Bird (Steeple Morden): It is being used.

396 00:52:50.630 --> 00:52:58.620 Malcolm Bird (Steeple Morden): It's we know it's caused discussion. There are people that that wander past and wander up to it, to have a look at what it is.

397 00:52:58.940 --> 00:53:01.739 Malcolm Bird (Steeple Morden): and clearly cause discussions.

398 00:53:01.920 --> 00:53:07.632 Malcolm Bird (Steeple Morden): And and really that was what we were wanting to do. We were wanting to just

399 00:53:08.330 --> 00:53:10.109 Malcolm Bird (Steeple Morden): raise the whole

400 00:53:10.350 --> 00:53:24.230 Malcolm Bird (Steeple Morden): issue and and get people realizing that. Yeah, there are charges around. It's not. It's not magic. It's not a mystery. And that seems to be working. So at the moment there hasn't been a real call on

401 00:53:24.440 --> 00:53:26.940 Malcolm Bird (Steeple Morden): further analysis.

402 00:53:27.080 --> 00:53:28.120 Malcolm Bird (Steeple Morden): Okay, if.

403 00:53:28.120 --> 00:53:32.750 David newman (Blackbird Leys): Do you ever get more than 2 cars there and someone queuing up.

404 00:53:33.497 --> 00:53:44.949 Malcolm Bird (Steeple Morden): Yeah, this is one thing that that's that's worth is worth mentioning. Because I talked a little bit about icing where an internal combustion car goes and parks in these spaces.

405 00:53:46.010 --> 00:54:10.860 Malcolm Bird (Steeple Morden): It's not only internal combustion cars that go here. We have found occasions when the car park is very busy. There's a lot going on at the recreation ground that both of these charges are occupied. Spaces are occupied, and I've enthusiastically gone up, and to find out who the owners are, and have a chat with them, and find out only to find that neither of them are charging.

406 00:54:11.060 --> 00:54:19.939 Malcolm Bird (Steeple Morden): So they are electric vehicles. They're parked there. Sometimes they have the cables connected, sometimes they don't, but they're not charging.

407 00:54:20.690 --> 00:54:33.210 Malcolm Bird (Steeple Morden): and it appears that what's happening is that people are saying, well, I've got an electric car. I'll make it look as if I'm charging. And you know I've now got an extra parking space that other people don't have.

408 00:54:33.630 --> 00:54:36.420 Malcolm Bird (Steeple Morden): which I find quite appalling.

409 00:54:36.937 --> 00:54:44.490 Malcolm Bird (Steeple Morden): We've done a bit of research to try and find out who these people are. We sometimes have put

410 00:54:44.710 --> 00:54:53.009 Malcolm Bird (Steeple Morden): little bits of paper under their their windscreen wiper to say that you know these are for electric vehicles that need charging.

411 00:54:53.230 --> 00:54:56.279 Malcolm Bird (Steeple Morden): Please don't use these for any other purpose.

412 00:54:57.538 --> 00:55:04.229 Malcolm Bird (Steeple Morden): And that it could be that under those circumstances there have been cars that have come

413 00:55:04.540 --> 00:55:07.459 Malcolm Bird (Steeple Morden): to charge and found the charger not available.

414 00:55:07.720 --> 00:55:21.680 Malcolm Bird (Steeple Morden): which would be very, very disappointing, but I have to say that this is very, very rare. I would say 99.9% of the time, if not 99.9 9% of the time. There's at least one space where

415 00:55:23.290 --> 00:55:32.439 Malcolm Bird (Steeple Morden): we have seen on occasion, both charges being used at the same time, but again very small amounts of overlap.

416 00:55:32.590 --> 00:55:39.989 Malcolm Bird (Steeple Morden): So it indicates to us that actually, at the moment just 2 charges here, the 2 charge ports is is sufficient.

417 00:55:41.380 --> 00:55:50.929 David newman (Blackbird Leys): Okay? And if I was going to say final question, actually, it's a couple related together.

418 00:55:53.590 --> 00:56:00.000 David newman (Blackbird Leys): This back-end processing organization isn't a charge point operator, is it?

419 00:56:02.430 --> 00:56:03.190 Malcolm Bird (Steeple Morden): Well,

420 00:56:07.020 --> 00:56:16.145 Malcolm Bird (Steeple Morden): they they! It's a bit difficult, because they they've changed their their name somewhat, and I'm never too sure where it is.

421 00:56:16.770 --> 00:56:20.649 Malcolm Bird (Steeple Morden): We use a company called Curv 360

422 00:56:21.670 --> 00:56:24.430 Malcolm Bird (Steeple Morden): who were part of project ev

423 00:56:25.372 --> 00:56:32.639 Malcolm Bird (Steeple Morden): project ev are the people that that make the charge point that we bought, purchased.

424 00:56:33.070 --> 00:56:38.129 Malcolm Bird (Steeple Morden): and because there was a link there, we thought well, it was worth starting with them.

425 00:56:39.109 --> 00:56:41.689 Malcolm Bird (Steeple Morden): Because if there were any problems.

426 00:56:42.140 --> 00:56:47.950 Malcolm Bird (Steeple Morden): It was the one company dealing with the back end and the charges so they could sort it out. And indeed they.

427 00:56:47.950 --> 00:56:48.490 David newman (Blackbird Leys): They did.

428 00:56:48.490 --> 00:56:49.979 Malcolm Bird (Steeple Morden): There was a problem.

429 00:56:51.400 --> 00:57:09.040 Malcolm Bird (Steeple Morden): but we could. We could go elsewhere if we wanted to now, and we possibly could, because we have more confidence. But, on the other hand, it's just. It has worked. It's work pretty seamlessly, and they are there at 24 HA day. Now, if anybody has a problem. It's it's them. They phone up.

430 00:57:09.500 --> 00:57:12.180 Malcolm Bird (Steeple Morden): so it seems to work.

431 00:57:13.330 --> 00:57:16.350 David newman (Blackbird Leys): And the related bit to that is

432 00:57:17.220 --> 00:57:29.700 David newman (Blackbird Leys): to sell electricity. You need a general power of competence, but if you'd gone the route of having a Cpo. Doing everything. I guess they would be selling, and you wouldn't need that.

433 00:57:31.020 --> 00:57:33.630 Malcolm Bird (Steeple Morden): Yes, I think that that's that's correct.

434 00:57:34.640 --> 00:57:37.580 Malcolm Bird (Steeple Morden): And typically they would. They would. Then

435 00:57:37.820 --> 00:57:41.960 Malcolm Bird (Steeple Morden): there are different different mechanisms. There are some that will speculatively

436 00:57:42.070 --> 00:57:53.730 Malcolm Bird (Steeple Morden): invest themselves and install something, and then they will take any profit and all profits out of it. But they'll obviously need to be pretty sure that they can actually make a profit out of it. There are others that will

437 00:57:53.910 --> 00:57:59.370 Malcolm Bird (Steeple Morden): say, Okay, if you want this done, we'll organize it all. But you need to pay us to to do it.

438 00:58:00.150 --> 00:58:09.730 Malcolm Bird (Steeple Morden): And there's everything in between. Really, if you, as far as I can see, if you if you look and talk around and so we've just comfortable. One end of the spectrum.

439 00:58:12.700 --> 00:58:17.560 Graham Stoddart-Stones - Great Collaboration Overseas Dept -host: Thanks, David, thanks, Malcolm Erin. Your turn, please.

440 00:58:18.840 --> 00:58:30.460 Cllr Helen Toft - Weymouth Town Council: Malcolm. That was extremely interesting, and for me personally has come along at just the right time. I'm a town councillor in Weymouth, and I'm chair of the Ceee working group.

441 00:58:30.460 --> 00:58:49.860 Cllr Helen Toft - Weymouth Town Council: and one of the things we've been looking at is the coverage of charging points in Weymouth, and though Dorset Council has kindly put lots in the public car parks. There are still great areas that have nothing at all, and streets of terraced houses where you know it's impossible to find a parking space, let alone one outside your own house.

442 00:58:49.920 --> 00:58:54.796 Cllr Helen Toft - Weymouth Town Council: And I'm extremely interested in this. I have a few questions.

443 00:58:56.040 --> 00:59:02.340 Cllr Helen Toft - Weymouth Town Council: did you, as a parish council have to use a tender process to select the company you went with?

444 00:59:02.840 --> 00:59:03.390 Cllr Helen Toft - Weymouth Town Council: Or is that.

445 00:59:03.744 --> 00:59:07.290 Malcolm Bird (Steeple Morden): Well, because we were just going down to contractor level.

446 00:59:08.920 --> 00:59:16.720 Malcolm Bird (Steeple Morden): Each actual arrangement with each contractor was was relatively small.

447 00:59:16.910 --> 00:59:17.310 Malcolm Bird (Steeple Morden): Right?

448 00:59:17.310 --> 00:59:18.230 Malcolm Bird (Steeple Morden): We did

449 00:59:18.470 --> 00:59:35.479 Malcolm Bird (Steeple Morden): go out to tender on on several aspects of it. So I mean, certainly we. We searched around for various charges and looked at various pricing and and selected the one we wanted, and then we we got got various quotes for that, and went with the best one for that.

450 00:59:35.990 --> 00:59:43.190 Malcolm Bird (Steeple Morden): Various organizations were actually doing the install. Various install contractors were doing the electrical install.

451 00:59:43.380 --> 00:59:46.130 Malcolm Bird (Steeple Morden): the groundworks. They're all separate.

452 00:59:46.890 --> 01:00:04.349 Malcolm Bird (Steeple Morden): And each of them at each time we did. We did write a request for quotation, we sent it out, and we, as I say, gave them a a very detailed purchase order at the end of it, that that specified very clearly what we were expecting of them, and that always did did work very, very smoothly.

453 01:00:05.160 --> 01:00:16.299 Cllr Helen Toft - Weymouth Town Council: Okay, thank you. I would be interested in any information you can. You can pass over and share because it's you know I've got to. I've got to engage the rest of being council with my enthusiasm, so.

454 01:00:16.300 --> 01:00:16.820 Malcolm Bird (Steeple Morden): Okay.

455 01:00:18.210 --> 01:00:39.250 Cllr Helen Toft - Weymouth Town Council: And make it look as oh, look! Somebody's done it! Isn't it easy? That would be great. CCTV. I presume, because my 1st question I put down was vandalism. And then you did mention CCTV. So I presume you've not had anybody tamper with it, or just chuck paint over it, for the thrill of it, or you don't live in that type of an area where you get that type of.

456 01:00:39.250 --> 01:00:39.940 Malcolm Bird (Steeple Morden): Oh.

457 01:00:40.300 --> 01:00:48.060 Malcolm Bird (Steeple Morden): yeah, luck luckily we don't seem to be. We seem to be in a fairly good area. No, we haven't had any problems at all.

458 01:00:49.790 --> 01:00:56.528 Malcolm Bird (Steeple Morden): We. We have had the odd issue on the recreation ground, so it's not totally without

459 01:00:58.150 --> 01:01:09.610 Malcolm Bird (Steeple Morden): but it is quite clear that there is CCTV. Around. The signs are up and so on. And there is a CCTV camera pointing right at this this installation.

460 01:01:10.640 --> 01:01:13.349 Malcolm Bird (Steeple Morden): But luckily we've never had to use it for.

461 01:01:13.350 --> 01:01:18.460 Cllr Helen Toft - Weymouth Town Council: Do you have any idea who would be liable for repairs if somebody

462 01:01:18.590 --> 01:01:32.700 Cllr Helen Toft - Weymouth Town Council: was to decide to mess with it and damage it? Would it become down to you, or would the would? The, you know, is your assurance? Are you covered by your insurance to to do that, or would, or the people who've installed it. They sort of build it into the cost that.

463 01:01:32.700 --> 01:01:45.476 Malcolm Bird (Steeple Morden): Oh, it's certainly no. The contractors we use will literally installers. So the liability does rest with us. We do have it under on on our insurance.

464 01:01:46.720 --> 01:02:02.439 Malcolm Bird (Steeple Morden): quite what that means when it if if it ever came to it or not, I don't know. I mean you'll see that there is a a bar up to make sure that people don't reverse straight into the the unit, which is apparently the most common problem.

465 01:02:03.013 --> 01:02:12.839 Malcolm Bird (Steeple Morden): And luckily our our bar is still upright, which is apparently quite surprising. Most most bars that you, you see, have already been knocked a few times.

466 01:02:13.386 --> 01:02:17.303 Malcolm Bird (Steeple Morden): So so far we haven't had to test it at all.

467 01:02:18.080 --> 01:02:25.813 Malcolm Bird (Steeple Morden): Luckily the cost of the equipment I mean the actual charging unit itself was only was under 2,000 pounds.

468 01:02:26.490 --> 01:02:31.660 Malcolm Bird (Steeple Morden): you know most of the cost is is in getting preparing everything for it. And

469 01:02:31.900 --> 01:02:43.110 Malcolm Bird (Steeple Morden): so really, sort of the worst that could happen is, somebody really smashes up the the charge unit itself, where you can unbolt it. Bolt the new one on, and you're off again, and it's not cost a huge.

470 01:02:43.110 --> 01:02:43.900 Malcolm Bird (Steeple Morden): All right to money.

471 01:02:43.900 --> 01:02:49.239 Cllr Helen Toft - Weymouth Town Council: Well as as a town council. We have, you know, high deprivation areas. And sometimes.

472 01:02:49.860 --> 01:02:53.815 Cllr Helen Toft - Weymouth Town Council: yeah, things that we we have to pay out for. But anyway,

473 01:02:54.210 --> 01:03:01.870 Malcolm Bird (Steeple Morden): Well, it's worth saying that there are some charges very specifically targeted at more difficult areas.

474 01:03:01.870 --> 01:03:02.210 Cllr Helen Toft - Weymouth Town Council: Right.

475 01:03:02.490 --> 01:03:20.450 Malcolm Bird (Steeple Morden): And they've they're even more robust and and have other mechanisms so that you can. They're easy to deal with. So that's a thought. Some of them disappear completely into the ground when they're not being used. You have to

476 01:03:20.640 --> 01:03:30.799 Malcolm Bird (Steeple Morden): have to have the app, and you have to appear out of the ground all sorts of things. So you can really go to town if you want to.

477 01:03:30.800 --> 01:03:36.009 Cllr Helen Toft - Weymouth Town Council: Okay, just just one last question I noticed on your graph. The the spikes.

478 01:03:36.230 --> 01:03:42.803 Cllr Helen Toft - Weymouth Town Council: What could could you account for that? Why, why, they? There was that huge spike. 2 years

479 01:03:43.190 --> 01:04:03.790 Malcolm Bird (Steeple Morden): Well, I well, the spike in in electricity use is because I think there were, and but this is a guess. I have to say, I think there were 2 or 3 people that bought battery electric vehicles in the village. They didn't at that time have their own charger, and so they all started coming and and

480 01:04:03.960 --> 01:04:10.477 Malcolm Bird (Steeple Morden): using these this overnight. And so typically they never clashed overnight.

481 01:04:11.330 --> 01:04:16.929 Malcolm Bird (Steeple Morden): But there would be 1 1 night one another night, and so on. And by the time you take

482 01:04:17.610 --> 01:04:25.000 Malcolm Bird (Steeple Morden): sort of 30 or 40 kilowatt hours several times in a week. Well, yeah, it adds up to your 200 and something or 300

483 01:04:25.520 --> 01:04:31.729 Malcolm Bird (Steeple Morden): kilowatt hours over the month that we saw on those times. Those people have since disappeared.

484 01:04:31.730 --> 01:04:32.270 Cllr Helen Toft - Weymouth Town Council: Yes.

485 01:04:32.270 --> 01:04:34.890 Malcolm Bird (Steeple Morden): Have they moved, or whatever? I don't know, but.

486 01:04:34.890 --> 01:04:38.799 Cllr Helen Toft - Weymouth Town Council: Okay, all right, then. Thank you very much. It's all been very interesting. Thank you.

487 01:04:40.550 --> 01:04:54.249 Graham Stoddart-Stones - Great Collaboration Overseas Dept -host: Well, no, Malcolm, before I throw in my questions. Just like to point out there are a couple of questions in the chat where people are looking for your email information and a couple of other things. Could you have a link to curb? 3 60,

488 01:04:54.570 --> 01:05:00.189 Graham Stoddart-Stones - Great Collaboration Overseas Dept -host: I think. Quite interesting, is the question of, Do you have a system for people to book a space?

489 01:05:00.400 --> 01:05:05.420 Graham Stoddart-Stones - Great Collaboration Overseas Dept -host: I would guess the answer is, no, because I'm not quite sure how you say it's reserved.

490 01:05:05.420 --> 01:05:13.079 Malcolm Bird (Steeple Morden): No, there's. There's all sorts of issues with that. And we really haven't seen the the need. It. It's just the availability has been

491 01:05:13.720 --> 01:05:29.699 Malcolm Bird (Steeple Morden): very good. I suppose the usage hasn't been as high as it might, and if we got to that problem it would be nice to have. We'd be looking at, increasing the number of charges we've got, I suppose, but we just haven't got there

492 01:05:30.070 --> 01:05:33.279 Malcolm Bird (Steeple Morden): at this time. The 2 port seems to be sufficient.

493 01:05:34.033 --> 01:05:35.749 Malcolm Bird (Steeple Morden): As as far as the

494 01:05:37.040 --> 01:05:46.240 Malcolm Bird (Steeple Morden): email address goes, I did say Ev ev charges at Stephen Warden, PC, but but I can come back to you with with these bits of information.

495 01:05:46.710 --> 01:05:47.359 Graham Stoddart-Stones - Great Collaboration Overseas Dept -host: Thank you

496 01:05:47.720 --> 01:06:00.050 Graham Stoddart-Stones - Great Collaboration Overseas Dept -host: and a couple of questions that I thought of. If someone has gone off and left their cable at home, is there any provision of cables from your end, or do you depend on everyone bringing their own.

497 01:06:00.700 --> 01:06:07.219 Malcolm Bird (Steeple Morden): Yeah, or each battery electric vehicle owner soon gets to realize that they need to carry.

498 01:06:07.800 --> 01:06:09.120 Graham Stoddart-Stones - Great Collaboration Overseas Dept -host: Cable around.

499 01:06:09.120 --> 01:06:09.619 Graham Stoddart-Stones - Great Collaboration Overseas Dept -host: Yeah, I know.

500 01:06:09.620 --> 01:06:16.479 Malcolm Bird (Steeple Morden): A/C chargers typically do not have attached cables. DC charges do

501 01:06:16.550 --> 01:06:39.970 Malcolm Bird (Steeple Morden): so. If you're on a slow one of the slower charges, you will need a cable, and people do. Interestingly, we did have 1 1 customer who got in touch with us because they had tried using our charges several times, and we could see it coming up on the the logs as attempt fails, attempt fail going on. What's going on? And we managed to

502 01:06:40.527 --> 01:06:48.472 Malcolm Bird (Steeple Morden): find them speak to them, and they said, Well, we keep plugging us in, and it just doesn't work. And

503 01:06:49.330 --> 01:06:54.919 Malcolm Bird (Steeple Morden): I tried my cable with their car, worked perfectly.

504 01:06:55.090 --> 01:06:55.550 Graham Stoddart-Stones - Great Collaboration Overseas Dept -host: Right.

505 01:06:55.550 --> 01:07:02.449 Malcolm Bird (Steeple Morden): And it transpired. This was a brand new cable that had come with a brand new car, and it just didn't work.

506 01:07:02.600 --> 01:07:13.089 Malcolm Bird (Steeple Morden): They went back to their garage, complained. They instantly gave them a new cable almost to the point of knowing there had been a problem with some of the cables they'd handed out.

507 01:07:13.230 --> 01:07:17.699 Malcolm Bird (Steeple Morden): And sure enough, very happy, Bunny. After that it all worked fine.

508 01:07:18.240 --> 01:07:18.580 Graham Stoddart-Stones - Great Collaboration Overseas Dept -host: Right.

509 01:07:18.600 --> 01:07:23.239 Malcolm Bird (Steeple Morden): But yeah. So you get to know whether your cable works or not. I guess.

510 01:07:23.980 --> 01:07:32.449 Graham Stoddart-Stones - Great Collaboration Overseas Dept -host: Okay. Another quick question. Do you happen to know whether Zapmap and the other mapping organizations are able to record? If your system is available or not.

511 01:07:33.860 --> 01:07:42.049 Malcolm Bird (Steeple Morden): Most of them do, and so our back end provider.

512 01:07:42.220 --> 01:07:49.129 Malcolm Bird (Steeple Morden): And it's another reason why you might choose one out of another does provide that information to companies like Zapmap.

513 01:07:49.130 --> 01:07:49.920 Graham Stoddart-Stones - Great Collaboration Overseas Dept -host: Brilliant.

514 01:07:50.407 --> 01:07:53.150 Malcolm Bird (Steeple Morden): So yes, you you do know

515 01:07:53.330 --> 01:07:58.530 Malcolm Bird (Steeple Morden): whether they're in use and and whether they are available and operational.

516 01:07:59.460 --> 01:08:20.700 Graham Stoddart-Stones - Great Collaboration Overseas Dept -host: And last question is, I don't know if you're on your planning committee or planning application Committee, but I always wondered whether there are all sorts of planning applications in for putting in the cross pavement charging systems, that people who are in terraced houses without driveways can at least put in a charger across the pavement without endangering all the pedestrians.

517 01:08:20.859 --> 01:08:24.169 Graham Stoddart-Stones - Great Collaboration Overseas Dept -host: Do you see any of those, or has there been an increase in that.

518 01:08:24.170 --> 01:08:34.950 Malcolm Bird (Steeple Morden): No, we haven't seen any of those clearly, you know. The the quick approval for those has only recently come through, hasn't it? But,

519 01:08:35.670 --> 01:08:45.169 Malcolm Bird (Steeple Morden): We've not seen that happen. We have seen one or 2 houses that we considered to not have off road parking.

520 01:08:45.580 --> 01:08:51.930 Malcolm Bird (Steeple Morden): create off road parking by turning their guard, knocking down their garden wall and turning their car.

521 01:08:51.930 --> 01:08:53.499 Graham Stoddart-Stones - Great Collaboration Overseas Dept -host: See that? Yeah, I've seen that.

522 01:08:53.935 --> 01:08:56.419 Malcolm Bird (Steeple Morden): Which seemed a bit dramatic. But there we go.

523 01:08:57.160 --> 01:09:00.860 Graham Stoddart-Stones - Great Collaboration Overseas Dept -host: And thank you very much. Let me pass you on to Stuart. Please.

524 01:09:01.930 --> 01:09:06.490 Cllr Stuart Withington, Great Dunmow TC, Essex: Alright. Thank you. That was a very interesting presentation.

525 01:09:07.410 --> 01:09:13.139 Cllr Stuart Withington, Great Dunmow TC, Essex: You come across lots of problems or

526 01:09:13.979 --> 01:09:17.539 Cllr Stuart Withington, Great Dunmow TC, Essex: things to overcome that I would never have thought of.

527 01:09:17.720 --> 01:09:22.620 Cllr Stuart Withington, Great Dunmow TC, Essex: and you've completely put me off trying to do it for my own counsel.

528 01:09:24.049 --> 01:09:38.640 Cllr Stuart Withington, Great Dunmow TC, Essex: I think I would leave it to the experts. Well, one thing I I would so just take you task a little bit is early on in your presentation. You seem to be saying that 22 kilowatt charging was a bit overkill.

529 01:09:39.130 --> 01:09:44.330 Cllr Stuart Withington, Great Dunmow TC, Essex: but the the whole direction for Ev seems to be faster and faster charging.

530 01:09:45.095 --> 01:09:49.459 Cllr Stuart Withington, Great Dunmow TC, Essex: I'm a a recent convert to an Ev.

531 01:09:49.700 --> 01:09:55.039 Cllr Stuart Withington, Great Dunmow TC, Essex: And I think mine will accept to about 150 kilowatts.

532 01:09:55.110 --> 01:09:56.419 Malcolm Bird (Steeple Morden): Not. I see.

533 01:09:56.420 --> 01:10:09.650 Cllr Stuart Withington, Great Dunmow TC, Essex: And a lot of sort of newer cars are going for 3 50 I think that there's some hyundai which will do 700, and they're even talking about a thousand kilowatt charging.

534 01:10:10.210 --> 01:10:14.789 Malcolm Bird (Steeple Morden): Yes, this has that. Those are DC charging rates.

535 01:10:14.960 --> 01:10:24.870 Malcolm Bird (Steeple Morden): And so what I was talking about is, if you make the choice to go to A/C, and I would expect most parish councils probably will go with with A/C,

536 01:10:25.040 --> 01:10:28.100 Malcolm Bird (Steeple Morden): because the charges are much, much cheaper.

537 01:10:30.120 --> 01:10:39.189 Malcolm Bird (Steeple Morden): that. That's so. So, basically the car itself, then, has to convert A/C into DC to charge the battery.

538 01:10:39.330 --> 01:10:47.040 Malcolm Bird (Steeple Morden): So basically cars the battery electric vehicle has an inverter in it to do that.

539 01:10:47.260 --> 01:10:52.770 Malcolm Bird (Steeple Morden): and most cars are limited to 11 kilowatts or less.

540 01:10:53.480 --> 01:11:00.870 Malcolm Bird (Steeple Morden): and that's the limit. So you can plug into a fast charger that's capable of 22 kilowatts A/C.

541 01:11:01.020 --> 01:11:08.030 Malcolm Bird (Steeple Morden): That your car will only charge at 11 kilowatts, because it's the limit, is the is the inverter in the car.

542 01:11:08.968 --> 01:11:20.140 Malcolm Bird (Steeple Morden): So that's why I was mentioning it. There are cars out there that have more Renault typically do, because in France they they use A/C chargers up to.

543 01:11:20.400 --> 01:11:38.739 Malcolm Bird (Steeple Morden): I think it's 43 kilowatts, and so Renault do fit larger ones. So if they come across a 3 phase charger in the Uk, they will be able to get the full 22 kilowatts, and you know that makes a difference. It's 3 times faster than a 7 kilowatt charger that's useful.

544 01:11:39.530 --> 01:11:42.570 Malcolm Bird (Steeple Morden): But as soon as you've gone over 8 kilowatts.

545 01:11:43.230 --> 01:11:46.779 Malcolm Bird (Steeple Morden): Capability. You do have to have a card, reader.

546 01:11:46.920 --> 01:12:02.660 Malcolm Bird (Steeple Morden): which, as I said, I think, is the the wrong thing. I would much prefer to see the government pushing for Iso, 1, 5, 1, 1, 8, to be implemented and pushing everybody towards card readers. But there we go.

547 01:12:03.530 --> 01:12:11.440 Cllr Stuart Withington, Great Dunmow TC, Essex: Yeah, I do think one of the drawbacks to getting an Ev is the prolong charging time.

548 01:12:11.560 --> 01:12:23.750 Cllr Stuart Withington, Great Dunmow TC, Essex: So certainly, if you're doing sort of long journeys, this and the other. And I think one thing that will encourage people. If there were more of the higher speed charges available.

549 01:12:24.160 --> 01:12:31.920 Malcolm Bird (Steeple Morden): Yes, of course that that is that's a in a way, a very important

550 01:12:33.230 --> 01:12:42.860 Malcolm Bird (Steeple Morden): but a different business opportunity. And luckily there are a lot of companies out there. Ionity, Nedfast, instavault

551 01:12:43.000 --> 01:12:49.809 Malcolm Bird (Steeple Morden): pulse. Bp, all sorts of people who are into that grid serve. They're out there building

552 01:12:50.500 --> 01:12:57.800 Malcolm Bird (Steeple Morden): large sets of infrastructure with 2030, 50 charges available on site.

553 01:12:57.940 --> 01:13:04.239 Malcolm Bird (Steeple Morden): dining facilities, coffee facilities, meeting rooms, all sorts of things. It's a it's it's

554 01:13:04.860 --> 01:13:07.990 Malcolm Bird (Steeple Morden): and and they they're definitely 300,

555 01:13:08.160 --> 01:13:12.959 Malcolm Bird (Steeple Morden): 400 kilowatt chargers. And, as you say, cars are beginning to be able to take that.

556 01:13:13.790 --> 01:13:18.410 Malcolm Bird (Steeple Morden): Having now had electric cars for 5 6 years myself.

557 01:13:18.953 --> 01:13:26.080 Malcolm Bird (Steeple Morden): I find it often gets to the point now where the car charges so quickly he can't finish a cup of coffee.

558 01:13:26.970 --> 01:13:53.069 Malcolm Bird (Steeple Morden): It's embarrassing because you go in. You order your coffee. You've just been given it, and the car bleeps and says, Right, your car's finished. Please take your car off the charger, otherwise you'll have penalties applied. Penalty charges apply. So you have to either drink the coffee rapidly, or rush through the service station with your coffee or leave it and go, and you actually would have preferred it to be a little bit slower.

559 01:13:53.220 --> 01:13:56.099 Cllr Stuart Withington, Great Dunmow TC, Essex: Yeah, well, I must say I I.

560 01:13:56.100 --> 01:13:58.140 Malcolm Bird (Steeple Morden): Manage yourself in a slightly different way.

561 01:13:58.140 --> 01:14:02.370 Cllr Stuart Withington, Great Dunmow TC, Essex: Yeah, I I it's I'm still yet to use public charging point

562 01:14:03.224 --> 01:14:09.909 Cllr Stuart Withington, Great Dunmow TC, Essex: I I found the home charging to be quite adequate, very interesting talk.

563 01:14:09.910 --> 01:14:11.490 Malcolm Bird (Steeple Morden): Good. Good. Okay.

564 01:14:12.460 --> 01:14:14.039 Graham Stoddart-Stones - Great Collaboration Overseas Dept -host: And back to you, David.

565 01:14:15.605 --> 01:14:21.149 David newman (Blackbird Leys): Yes, that it depends on whether you have

566 01:14:21.300 --> 01:14:28.550 David newman (Blackbird Leys): a cafe or not, whether you need fast charging, in fact, with cafes you want slower charging. I guess you

567 01:14:29.070 --> 01:14:36.609 David newman (Blackbird Leys): I had 2 recreation grounds, and the question I was going to ask something just occurred to me.

568 01:14:36.870 --> 01:14:51.120 David newman (Blackbird Leys): There are some places that do entirely off grid charging. They have a windmill or a solar farm. They don't go through the grid so they can charge whatever they like. I don't know if there are facility

569 01:14:51.290 --> 01:14:55.969 David newman (Blackbird Leys): spaces that you could use to do any of that, or if there isn't any space.

570 01:14:57.140 --> 01:15:06.700 Malcolm Bird (Steeple Morden): You certainly could. I mean, typically the these systems have large arrays of solar panels, a wind turbine

571 01:15:07.030 --> 01:15:21.179 Malcolm Bird (Steeple Morden): or hydro. They have a method of generating electricity typically at a relatively low rate. They then have a battery on site that they're constantly charging that battery. And then, when a

572 01:15:21.430 --> 01:15:34.500 Malcolm Bird (Steeple Morden): a battery electric vehicle comes along. That battery dumps from itself into the car. And that cycle goes around again. And and yeah, that that's absolutely great. But, boy, it's quite expensive.

573 01:15:36.450 --> 01:15:43.000 Malcolm Bird (Steeple Morden): So yeah, in those areas where the national grid really can't provide a good power source.

574 01:15:43.100 --> 01:15:45.940 Malcolm Bird (Steeple Morden): they they can be extremely useful.

575 01:15:46.290 --> 01:15:52.080 Malcolm Bird (Steeple Morden): But I would suggest. That's for the big boys, not for not for the Parish councils to really be.

576 01:15:55.280 --> 01:15:58.666 Graham Stoddart-Stones - Great Collaboration Overseas Dept -host: Well, any other questions from anybody else.

577 01:15:59.280 --> 01:16:13.880 Graham Stoddart-Stones - Great Collaboration Overseas Dept -host: Malcolm, that was really helpful. Thank you so much. I'm along with Helen. I'm going to be one of the people who goes to my parish council and says, Come on, you've been bickering about this for so long. Here people have done it. It's possible. Get on with it, and we'll see where we go. But thank you so much for.

578 01:16:13.880 --> 01:16:14.300 Malcolm Bird (Steeple Morden): Gotcha.

579 01:16:14.300 --> 01:16:20.619 Graham Stoddart-Stones - Great Collaboration Overseas Dept -host: Helping us out today. It was. It was fascinating, and it was a great pleasure to have you with us.

580 01:16:20.800 --> 01:16:28.894 Malcolm Bird (Steeple Morden): Well, thank you very much. Thanks for the invite, and I hope it is useful. And yeah, by all means drop me an email. I'll make sure you have the email and

581 01:16:29.710 --> 01:16:32.199 Malcolm Bird (Steeple Morden): we'll go from there. But well done. Good good luck!

582 01:16:32.200 --> 01:16:35.769 Andrew Maliphant Great Collaboration: Thanks, Malcolm. We'll very much keep in touch and enjoy your holidays.

583 01:16:36.192 --> 01:16:37.879 Malcolm Bird (Steeple Morden): Okay. Yes. Thanks. Thanks.

584 01:16:38.220 --> 01:16:51.579 Graham Stoddart-Stones - Great Collaboration Overseas Dept -host: And thank you all very much for joining us, and we look forward to seeing you. Next time I would cheerfully announce what the topic is going to be next week, but I haven't got the slightest idea yet, so we'll do that later. Thank you all very much. Bye, bye.

Markdown of the Case Study (for AI search):

# EV Charger Installation Considerations in a Community Setting

*Steeple Morden Parish Council (SMPC), 2023 – Recreation Ground installation*

## 📝 Background
- **Primary aim**: To signal community support for EV adoption.
- **Community survey**: Gauged EV ownership, interest, off-street parking availability, and likely usage.
- **Finding**: Some residents more likely to buy an EV if chargers were installed.

## 🔌 Types of Chargers
- **AC Chargers**:
  - 13A, 7kW (single-phase), 22kW (3-phase)
  - Suitable for longer stays or home-style charging
  - Lower project cost
- **DC Chargers**:
  - 50kW+
  - High power, faster charging (~30 minutes)
  - Requires significant infrastructure

## ⚙️ Equipment Selection
- Key criteria: Reliability, reputation, open standards (e.g., OCPP), load balancing capability.
- Ensure monitoring of system load to avoid overcapacity.

## 🏢 DNO (Distribution Network Operator) Approval
- **SMPC area**: UK Power Networks
- New dedicated supply is expensive.
- Consider using existing supply (e.g., Village Hall) with separate metering.
- DNO approval needed for load compatibility and potential fuse upgrades.

## 🌐 Connectivity
- **Internet connection**:
  - Preferred: Ethernet via shared building (e.g., ducted with power cables)
  - Acceptable: Wi-Fi
  - Fallback: Mobile data (adds ongoing cost)

## 🛠 Contracting Options
- **Outsource**: Companies handle install + operations, but control is limited.
- **In-house (SMPC approach)**:
  - Local contractors used
  - Third-party billing provider takes 10% fee
  - 24/7 support line offered

## 👷 Choosing Contractors
- Certified EV charger electricians are required.
- Groundworks for bays can be separate.
- Encourage bids from firms with community spirit.
- Allow time for grant approval and council processes.

## 🅿️ Charging Bays
- Marking and signage needed for:
  - Visibility and professionalism
  - Avoiding "ICE'ing" (non-EVs blocking bays)
- Add:
  - Clear operating instructions near charger
  - 24/7 support contact
  - CCTV (anti-social behaviour monitoring)

## 💷 Funding & Grants
- SMPC secured funding from:
  - **DfT/ORCS** (On-Street Residential Chargepoint Scheme)
  - **SCDC** (South Cambs District Council EV Charge Grant)
- Contacts:
  - [[email protected]](mailto:[email protected])
  - [[email protected]](mailto:[email protected])

## 💳 Payment System
- SMPC debated with ORCS on **contactless** vs **Plug & Charge (ISO 15118)**.
- Current approach:
  - No contactless
  - App-based payment (free app)
  - Avoids need for screens/cards
- Backend system:
  - Operates using **OCPP** standard
  - Allows future switching of providers
- Parish Councils need **General Power of Competence (GPC)** to charge users.

## 📈 Pricing Strategy
- Check **Zap-Map**, **Electroverse** for local rate comparisons.
- Decide on goal: profit, breakeven, or subsidised service.
- Remember idle chargers still consume background power.

## 📊 Usage Trends
- Early weeks: Many test connections.
- Later: Fewer users, but longer (5+ hours) charge sessions.
- Growth is steady and evolving.

## 📣 Publicity & Promotion
- Required listings:
  - [Zap-Map](https://www.zap-map.com)
  - [National Chargepoint Registry](https://chargepoints.dft.gov.uk/login)
- Local promotions:
  - Facebook, newsletters, road signage
  - Lamppost signage requires SCDC permission: [[email protected]](mailto:[email protected])

## 📬 Contact
- Questions welcome: [[email protected]](mailto:[email protected])

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