Fears electric car 'pavement channels' could spark rows in the street |
Some councils have experimented with allowing channels to be created so cables can be run from homes without driveways.
A year ago, Green county councillor Paul Neale urged Norfolk County Council to consider introducing them and he was told the authority was looking into the results in other areas.
Paul Neale (Image: Paul Neale)
At a full council meeting on Tuesday (March 24), Mr Neale, who represents Norwich's Nelson division, asked Graham Plant, cabinet member for highways, transport and infrastructure, whether the council would now consider bringing them in.
A pavement channel for electric vehicle charging (Image: Department for Transport)
But Mr Plant said he feared creating permanent channels in terraced streets, where drivers do not have dedicated parking places, could trigger conflict.
He said: "If you had a permanent cable, the issue is that people do not have the right to park outside their house to charge their car, if their neighbour is parked there.
"I don't have a resolution to that yet and neither does anyone across the rest of the country.
"I have got terraced streets in Great Yarmouth which are a mile long and chock-a-block with parked cars.
"If I allow someone with an EV to park outside their house because they have an EV cable there, we are going to have issues and we going to have people arguing.
"I don't think it is right that members could have to sort out that kind of issue in the street."
Graham Plant (Image: Sonya Duncan)
Mr Plant said the council would stick with its current system of permitting people who pay £69 for an assessment to be allowed to run temporary cables to charge their vehicles.
The council has also installed a number of charge points in streets around Norwich so people can power their vehicles.
Mr Plant said: "I don't want people across Norfolk arguing outside their houses about who is parking where."