Walsall: we don't need electric vehicle charge points we need safer streets

Vice-chair of Birchills Agenda 21 Group, Shokt Fazal, launched the petition believing two proposed sites for installation – on Pargeter and Raleigh Street – are ‘totally unsuitable’.

He said the move would exacerbate the lack of parking already facing residents in the area, and that the demand for electric vehicle charge points can already be met with publicly available sockets. The 55-year-old described the scheme as ‘creating more problems where others already exist’.

Shokt said: “I’m not against green policies, we’re doing work to protect Reedswood Park and have won Green Flag awards. But do you really want to leave your vehicle to charge in a residential street where there’s a stabbing a mile away, a machete attack and shooting nearby?

“We’ve got a problem with off-road bikes. Dalkeith Street has got squatters at the unofficial waste site. Pargeter Court car park is subject to regular flytipping. I’ve been asking for a meeting with the Police and Crime Commissioner since August but he doesn’t do face-to-face meetings.

“Because of the levels of crime, it’s a poor insurance post code. If you have an electric car, the insurance goes through the roof. The site already suffers from lack of parking which will be further impacted by the loss of spaces. Community cohesion will be affected.”

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Between now and 2030, Walsall Council plans to install 665 EV charging sockets across the borough. As more than a third of residents are without off-street parking, the council believes it’s essential to install on-street units in residential areas.

The council hopes to deliver the first 280 EV charging points before 2026. Of these, 250 will be on-street units, 20 will be installed on some of the council’s 17 car parks and 10 will be located across other council facilities such as leisure centres, libraries and community centres.

Neither Walsall Council or Police and Crime Commissioner Simon Foster have provided a comment.