ELECTRIC vehicle (EV) charge points in a council-owned car park have been barricaded after residents kept pinching energy as costs surged.

Slough Borough Council has closed off a bank of EV chargers in the basement of Herschel multi-storey car park after motorists kept using them despite being told not to.

The car park has 13 chargers with two sockets each in the basement and was supposed to be used for its staff that uses its fleet of EVs.

Slough Observer: The bank of unused EV chargers at the basement of Herschel car parkThe bank of unused EV chargers at the basement of Herschel car park (Image: LDRS)

Earlier this month, Cllr Wayne Strutton (Con: Haymill & Lynch Hill) pointed out to senior councillors that people were taking away up to £40 of the council’s electricity to charge their cars.

A Slough Borough Council spokesperson said they allowed residents to use the points for a while, despite being told not to, but had to cordon the bank of chargers off due to costs.

They explained: “With rising energy costs and our need to cut the amount of money we spend as a council we had to barrier off the basement whilst we look whether it is possible to bring those into general use as well and what charges may be applicable.

“So, the only ones for general use are on the top deck.”

Slough Observer: Barricades were put in place while the council thinks what to do with the EV chargersBarricades were put in place while the council thinks what to do with the EV chargers (Image: LDRS)

There are three charge points on the top deck for the public to use free of charge, but two of them are broken. On top of this, the council closes the top deck when it’s cold and icy due to “health and safety” reasons.

This was pointed out by Uber driver Mr Zafar, who said the “brand new” charge points have been broken for “a long time”.

Mr Zafar used the top deck and the basement EV points to charge his KIA for free but pays for the parking. He is now finding it difficult to power up his car due to the lack of public points across the borough.

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He said: “I took the decision to get an electric car to help the environment, but the council is not helping in any way.”

According to the spokesperson, the chargers are operated by BP, who wishes to charge the local authority £150 per port plus any repair fees.

“This, currently, is not a priority as two points remain working,” the spokesperson added.

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They also said the council does not know how much electricity was used to charge EVs when they were operating.