Agenda item

The Corporate Director of Economy & Place to present a report that provides an update on the progress of the Hyper hub facilities at Poppleton Bar and Monk’s Cross Park and Ride sites.

Resolved:  (i)      That the progress of the Hyper hubs project be noted.

                   (ii)      That approval be given to proceed with the procurement of a contract for the supply and installation of the hyper hubs and that authority be delegated to the Assistant Director of Transport, Highways & Environment, in consultation with the Assistant Director of Legal & Governance or his / her delegated officers, to take such steps as are necessary to award and enter into the resulting contract for the delivery of the Hyper hubs project, with the proviso that, if the scheme needs to be tailored to the available budget, this be brought back to Executive in a further report.

                   (iii)     That the approach to the wider estate and progress on fixing the council’s current Electric Vehicle (EV) charging assets, as set out in the report, be approved.

                   (iv)    That officers be asked to develop the principles set out in the report, along with the comments, into a formal Public EV Charging Strategy to be brought to a future Executive meeting.

                   (iv)    That the fees for parking in EV bays be included in the budget proposals for 2020/21.

Reason:     In order to move forward and implement an EV charging infrastructure that meets the Council’s ambitions in terms of carbon reduction, promoting sustainable transport and increasing the use of electric vehicles to improve air quality in the city.

[See also under Part B]

The Assistant Director of Transport, Highways & Improvement presented a report which provided an update on progress of the project to deliver ‘Hyper hub’ facilities for the rapid charging of electric vehicles (EVs) at Poppleton Bar and Monks Cross (the project), and sought approval to procure a contract for their supply and installation.

The project had been approved by Executive on 18 March 2019 (Minute 130 of that meeting refers).  Initial market engagement had made it clear that the cost would be higher than originally forecast, and a further £700k was being sought from a number of sources, including the Local Enterprise Partnership (LEP) and European Regional Development Fund (ERDF).  This would require match funding of £400k from the council.  Despite this increase, the importance of the project remained.  Hyper hubs were a cornerstone of the city’s future EV charging estate, providing a sustainable and inclusive solution for EV owners with no off-street parking and allowing control over tariffs, to ensure a fair cost of charging for residents, businesses and visitors.

Two options were available:

Option 1 – to approve supplementary funding to move forward with the project, as recommended.

Option 2 – to ask officers to develop proposals for a reduced scheme. This would reduce the carbon reduction potential of the project.

In response to questions from Members and comments made under Public Participation, officers confirmed that:

·        Opportunities would be sought to mitigate the council’s additional contribution.

·        Suggestions made at the meeting in relation to on-street charging could be addressed in preparing the report on the EV charging strategy referred to in recommendation (v).

·        Officers were also examining different fuel types as a way of reducing carbon emissions.

Resolved:  (i)      That the progress of the Hyper hubs project be noted.

                   (ii)      That approval be given to proceed with the procurement of a contract for the supply and installation of the hyper hubs and that authority be delegated to the Assistant Director of Transport, Highways & Environment, in consultation with the Assistant Director of Legal & Governance or his / her delegated officers, to take such steps as are necessary to award and enter into the resulting contract for the delivery of the Hyper hubs project, with the proviso that, if the scheme needs to be tailored to the available budget, this be brought back to Executive in a further report.

                   (iii)     That the approach to the wider estate and progress on fixing the council’s current Electric Vehicle (EV) charging assets, as set out in the report, be approved.

                   (iv)    That officers be asked to develop the principles set out in the report, along with the comments, into a formal Public EV Charging Strategy to be brought to a future Executive meeting.

                   (iv)    That the fees for parking in EV bays be included in the budget proposals for 2020/21.

Reason:     In order to move forward and implement an EV charging infrastructure that meets the Council’s ambitions in terms of carbon reduction, promoting sustainable transport and increasing the use of electric vehicles to improve air quality in the city.