Number of electric vehicle chargers set to be added to Hereford retail park
The city’s Old Market is to get ten new ones
A number of rapid charging stations for electric vehicles are to be installed at Hereford's Old Market.
InstaVolt had been seeking planning permission from Herefordshire Council for ten to be put in place, along with the necessary equipment, including two fully accessible EV charging bays, a substation, feeder pillar and pole-mounted CCTV.
The Hampshire-based firm’s application said the proposal is in line with local and national planning policy and Herefordshire Council’s drive towards net-zero and “satisfies a major urban network charging deficit for commuters and local city-centre residents without off-street driveways”.
It added, “there is a real economic urgency to proposals such as this”, with the national aim of phasing out the sale of non-electric vehicles over the next ten years by 2035.
Plans provided alongside it showed 17 parking spaces towards Blackfriars Street side of the retail park would be lost as a result of the work, while also highlighting users would still enter and exit the stations through the site's existing automatic barriers.
In a separate application, the company also asked for consent for a free-standing, two-metre-high, unlit “totem” sign on the corner of Blackfriars Street and the A49 Edgar Street.
With no objections made to either proposal from officials, councillors or the public, the council's planning officer Josh Bailey concluded the scheme would not cause "demonstrable impact upon the character of the setting or that of the wider townscape setting”, though it would require removal of two “minor” trees.
The move will increase the type of infrastructure in the area, with four Pod Point charging stations already in place at the location.