Electric vehicle charging points to be installed at Plas Coch Retail Park

New electric vehicle charging points will be installed at Wrexham’s Plas Coch Retail Park.

The council has granted planning permission to Osprey Charging Network for the development of an electrical substation and six charger high-powered electric vehicle (EV) charging hub at the retail park which is owned by property investment firm Ediston.

According to the applicants they are aiming to make the development at Plas Coch Retail Park one of their “flagship hubs sites in the UK, which will create a huge buzz and PR focus in the area”.

A covering letter submitted with the successful application states that the development will also help towards Wrexham Council’s decarbonisation plan to achieve net zero carbon emissions by 2030.

Back in November at its homes and environment scrutiny committee, council chiefs confirmed the authority was looking to work with private companies to increase the number of EV charging points across the county.

The covering letter said: “Osprey Charging Network has already completed in excess of 250 sites around Britain and has witnessed the ever-increasing need for high-power, public, EV charging; as well as a need for the provision of slower speed charging for customers who have much longer dwell times.

“Wrexham Council declared a climate emergency in 2019 and aims to have net zero carbon emissions by 2030.

“It’s an ambitious agenda and projects, such as the proposed, are an essential part of this goal, helping locals to make the switch to zero emissions vehicles.

“As stated in their Decarbonisation Plan (2021-2030), Wrexham Council is one of the leading Welsh local authorities to install Electric Vehicle Charging Points in publicly accessible car parks.

“While this is a great start, there is an ever-growing need for the provision of more, high speed, charge points. These would offer both residents and visitors a method of very quickly recharging their vehicles, rather than having to charge for a number of hours on a slower charger.

“Further, for the same number of charge points, more vehicles can be recharged in a given time period.”

According to the applicants, battery electric vehicles account for just 2.1 per cent of the vehicles currently on UK roads, but that number is expected to rise to more than 30 per cent by 2030.

They say their charging points will be accessible to all.

The covering letter adds: “All cars, regardless of charging port, can charge on the network and customers have an option to simply use contactless payment, an app, RFID (radio frequency identification) or a subscription service.

“We cater to all drivers; including those with reduced mobility; and if there are drivers who regularly rely on and use our charge points, our subscription service allows them to sign up to a cheaper tariff as we understand not all customers have access to a private charger at home.”

Planning permission was granted in a delegated decision signed off by Wrexham Council’s chief planning officer David Fitzsimon.

By Rory Sheehan – BBC Local Democracy Reporter