General News
22 December, 2022
EV station lease approved
CORANGAMITE Shire Council has agreed to enter into a licence agreement with Electric Vehicle (EV) charging provider Evie Networks.
CORANGAMITE Shire Council has agreed to enter into a licence agreement with Electric Vehicle (EV) charging provider Evie Networks.
However, councillors expressed their disappointment no businesses in Camperdown would take on a private arrangement.
The agreement will see Evie Networks install and operate an EV charging station on council managed land in Bath Street, Camperdown.
Shire manager environment and emergency Lyall Bond said in his report to council the shire participated in a Victoria wide project led by the Central Victorian Greenhouse Alliance, called Charging the Regions.
“This project sought to identify gaps in the EV charging networks and then propose suitable EV charging locations that would allow EV owners to travel more easily in regional areas,” he said.
“The project included 43 regional/rural local government areas and 14 outer metropolitan councils.
“The final report provided a number of recommendations relevant to Corangamite Shire with Camperdown being specifically identified as a priority town for the installation of EV charging facilities, while other towns and sites were considered strategically beneficial particularly if located near high tourist areas.”
Mr Bond said since the report was completed, officers have been working to support the installation of EV chargers within the shire.
“Evie Networks has made numerous attempts to access private land to provide charging services to the community and visitors near the centre of Camperdown, without success.
“After six months of attempting to secure an agreement with private landowners, Evie Networks approached council to locate a suitable EV charging site on council owned or managed land.
“Council officers identified a number of potential sites on council managed land however, after initial assessments, the two northern car parks on the west side of Bath Street identified as the most suitable location for a charging station.”
The proposed location of the charging station was in Bath Street near the Theatre Hall and would require two car parks.
The licence term was for nine years and 364 days at a peppercorn fee of $1 per year.
Mr Bond said the adjoining landowner at 53 Fergusson Street had advised council of its objection to the proposal.
“As part of the objection the owners of 53 Fergusson Street identified other locations within the town which they thought would be better suited to EV Chargers,” he said.
“The owners had also previously spoken to council regarding the provision of property access from Bath Street for their property, which was not supported.
“This was raised as a biased approach from council given the EV Charging station would now remove parking from the general public.
“Although the adjoining property owners does not support the installation of the chargers in this location, there is no evidence to support the claims that the charging station would impact negatively on their land or the surrounding streets.”
Councillor Geraldine Conheady said the agreement recognises the increasing number of EV’s on the road.
“We need to have increased EV charging accessibility in our regional areas and having one in Camperdown will bring support to our local community and hopefully increase visitation to the Corangamite Shire,” she said.
“It’s a pity really that the private land owners did not take up the opportunity, I know certainly, the applicants tried very hard.”
Cr Laurie Hickey also said he had an “issue with public land being used for a private enterprise”.
Cr Jo Beard said she would like to see a policy developed which sees a more equitable return for council as opposed to the peppercorn fee.
Mr Bond said council have also been in discussions with Tesla, who were proposing to install Tesla universal EV charging facilities in Port Campbell and Princetown.
However, he said Tesla were now in discussions with a private landowner to install the charging infrastructure in Port Campbell.
“Council is therefore currently not involved with EV chargers being installed in these two towns.”