Sinn Féin and the SDLP argue proposals heavily favour the east and south of the city
Belfast Council has agreed the development of 42 electric vehicle charging stations on council land across the city.
A divided chamber at City Hall agreed to look to tender for the first phase of rolling out an EV charging station scheme, which has been discussed at City Hall for a number of years.
The scheme as it stands has pitted Alliance, the Greens, the DUP and UUP on one side, against Sinn Féin and the SDLP on the other, with disagreements over whether the council should put the scheme to tender before agreeing the amount and location of the sites. The exact location of the sites have not yet been determined.
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Sinn Féin and the SDLP have called for a wider list of charge points before going to tender, and argue that proposals so far, which have not been made public, heavily favour the east and south of the city, to the detriment of the north and west.
At a committee meeting last month, a tight vote saw an Alliance proposal fall. That proposal, by Alliance Councillor Michael Long, stated that the council would agree to begin the tender process based on a “Concession Operating Model,” and defer consideration of the specific locations of the proposed phase one sites so that a broader list could be submitted later to the committee.
The original Sinn Féin proposal then passed at the committee stage. It was agreed to defer consideration of the tender process “so that a wider list of proposed phase one sites across the city could be submitted.”
This decision was then reversed at the November meeting of the full council, again on a knife-edge vote. On an Alliance proposal to reverse the committee decision, and put the EV scheme to tender, 28 elected members from Alliance, the Greens, the DUP and UUP voted in favour, while 28 elected members from Sinn Féin and the SDLP voted against.
The Lord Mayor Tracy Kelly, a DUP elected representative, used her casting vote to pass the Long proposal.
Sinn Féin Councillor Ryan Murphy said at the meeting: “When you look at what is proposed, (there are) five sites in the north of the city. The Oldpark district electoral area doesn’t have any. Three sites are in the west of the city, while in the east (there are) about 20 sites, and nine sites in the south.
“So we are not happy enough to proceed at this stage. We think it needs to be rectified, for a wider list of sites.”
Councillor Long said later: “After originally proposing the specific need for Belfast City Council to provide EV charging points at all our facilities back in 2022, I’m incredibly pleased that we are now finally at the stage of looking to tender for the first phase of rolling this out.
“This decision sends a strong message that our council is working effectively to help people make changes to protect our planet. Speaking as a Lisnasharragh councillor, in our area we have several sites that have great potential as locations for these charging stations, such as Henry Jones, Orangefield Park and Cherryvale, and I look forward to seeing which sites are ultimately chosen.
“Until we have significant and reliable numbers of charging points, people will not make the switch to electric, and this will continue to make it harder to achieve our climate goals. The lack of facilities and adequate infrastructure in Belfast is also bound to discourage tourists and those visiting from shopping and enjoying our hospitality.
“For too many drivers, the current lack of charging infrastructure is the main barrier to going electric. The current level of provision in the city really is very poor and it is vital that the council continues leading the way in changing this.”
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