Electric Car Charger
 

I thought Dr Who was visiting town when I saw this new style Tardis on the corner by the Town Hall.
Is this really a necessity, or is there a Council Member with a new car?
Why has it been provided, losing 2 invalid parking spaces, what has it cost and who has paid for it?
If it is the Council then it strikes me that there are more important matters that would benefit from our money being spent on them.

Re: Electric Car Charger
 

Today I passed by and the car parked on the bay for electric cars was certainly not electric.
I'm not sure but I think the government give part of our taxes towards such chargers.
A friend with two or three electric limos told me he gets a subsidy for running them.

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I haven't seen any publicity about it and so a number of points spring to mind. Are only cars being re-charged allowed in the bays. What action can be taken against someone who legitimately parks in the bays - Blue Badge holders. Who is responsible for it. Who finances it, including the maintenance and repair costs. What benefit is there for the general public.
Perhaps someone in the know will let us know.

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You have no chance of anyone in the know coming on here, unless it's to criticise the members.
Our M.P. gave up the battle when he found 95% of his electorate know more about the EU than he does and his dismal side show bob only turns up to tell us how unpopular the site is, NEVER to actually inform us of anything worthwhile.
Go on one of you two prove me wrong, come on site and give us a real reason why we should vote labour.
(By the way is there any other party brave enough to face AccyWeb? ).

Re: Electric Car Charger
 

The Government funds 75% of the cost.
Struggled to find the actual cost, best I found was Dorset was installing 15 last year.
Total cost £964,000! Unbelievable!
Dorset got a grant of £723,000.

So yours is only costing £64,000. Cost to Hyndburn- a miserly £16,000.

Now all you need to do is buy an electric car!

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I got an electric car for Christmas in the 60's it was a skaletrix.

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Your folks must have had money! If a charger is £64,000 what did they pay for the car?

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I've seen quite a few hybrid taxis just recently, and the charging point is just around the corner from several taxi places, what a co-incidence.

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Hey, hang on, I bragged about getting the car, we could never afford to run it. [emoji30]

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I don't think you charge hybrids

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Does anyone really care?
They haven't finished the install yet. I'd expect the road signage to be changed and anything not being charge will hopefully be towed away but I won't hold my breath as most offences by cars appear to be ignored in Hyndburn

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about 2 people said they will use it on hyndburn chat but why anyone would leave home without making sure their car had enough power i dont know..

yes i do actually know it will be free electricity for them despite that electricity been made by burning fossil fuels or nuclear energy its somehow deemed green energy so we dont get free petrol and diesel because they are dirty fuels .Dont get me started on how the process of making and delivering parts from sources all over the world puts out a carbon footprint so huge the car will never justify its self.

if they want free electricity they should have fitted a huge winder handle so they could charge their cars up like you do them wind up torches and radios

not sure where the money comes from to pay for this free electricity handout but they could have at least fitted a few USB ports so folk could charge tehir phones

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I don't think it will be free to charge an electric vehicle.......I am sure ther was a card slot on the charger.....now whether you have to pay by credit card...or whether you can get a sort of 'top up' card I'm not sure...but I very much doubt that this facility will be free.

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Some you do (plug in hybrids)
Electric car and hybrid car buying guide | Digital Trends

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A few weeks ago I stood looking at it , wondering what on earth it was .

Two men , more knowledgeable than me about modern technology , came along and enlightened me .

One noted that on the screen at the front of the gadget there is some sort of facility for payment .

Re: Electric Car Charger
 

A delivery bay close to Accrington Town Hall, in Broadway, will be converted into a free ‘fast charging’ point for economical motorists.
From here - Electric car charging points coming to Accrington (From Lancashire Telegraph)

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Using Gordon's figures and the ones from the Telegraph, then Hyndburn will have to come up with c.£38,000. What is the expected return on this, or is it just another white elephant like the click and collect for the Market?
Is this a sensible way of spending our Council Tax?
I think I saw credit card slots on the machine, so presumably the user does pay for getting their car charged.

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a labour councilor and a labour MP were reading the very long winded discussion on facebook and neither quashed the thought that it was free electricity but hey its not like labour are in control around here so how can they be expected to know.....(sarcasm)

either way regardless of the excuse that it was a government grant its still money sourced from the public in one way or another and a waste of money at that.

if the council put as much effort into improving the the town rather than looking for exotic ways to waste money and get their faces in the paper the town may improve

i dont know it may be a good thing especially if i can catch a drunk or smackhead asking it for spare change then at least it would get liked on youtube or facebook

cops moving next door to greggs and a car charger .Is it coincidence theres an election near?

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Will it end up similar to the super loo saga? No-one uses it so, to save money the Council have it removed only to find they have a contract saying they will have to pay three years rent?
I'm 95% sure the cost of that particular saving was in the region of £20,000, is this history repeating itself?
E.G. let's not learn from our mistakes let's just make them in a more expensive manner.

One thing for certain, I ain't buying a 'green' car just so I can plug it in, in a deserted town centre.

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if there was enough cars to justify this thing or the prospect of there been enough in the near future the margram garage would have one as would most petrol stations including ASDA

there was a family car on top gear that ran on hydrogen which is genuinely clean fuel and if they take off this thing is going to be even more pointless

Re: Electric Car Charger
 

Only one problem- where does the hydrogen come from?
By splitting water into oxygen and hydrogen.
How do you do that?
By using the same electricity used for electric cars-produced by coal, gas, oil, nuclear( and on a windy day, not too windy, a little bit from the super expensive turbines).

The final result may seem like clean energy but it's not clean or efficient.

We've a long way to go before we find a true source of clean energy.

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well at least 2 folk in hyndburn will be happy.Im sure theres more but im guessing they have the sense to charge their vehicles before use and wont rely on having to use the one in town center

but theres no such thing as bad publicity even a stupid stunt with no relativity to the towns problems can get your pic in the paper and all that matters near election time is a big smile plastered where plenty can see it

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I would think that any signage would have to be enforceable by law, otherwise they cannot tow a car away - surely that be theft of a motor vehicle?

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Electric cars are that useless Nissan have stopped making them,the batteries cost approx. £6000 to replace and some manufacturers have started leasing the batteries to you to try to sell their cars.At the moment until the technology is vastly improved don't even think of buying electric,they will suffer the same fate as 3 wheelers, extinction.

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If thats the case jack, i can see the connection to H.B.C.:D

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I noticed a charging point outside a business premises ( former terrace property) at the end of Atlas street on Dill Hall Lane.
I wonder if one of the stipulations of having a grant for installing them and running electric cars is that anybody else can plug in for a quick charge.

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Is that your personal opinion from owning one?

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people who have them swear by them until the battery starts to diminish and then they sell them to a sucker on ebay lol

one day they will get it right but they havnt yet

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The thing with electric vehicles is that people complain that there isn't an infrastructure in place to charge them otherwise they might consider one.

If you have an electric car you might consider shopping in Accrington, free parking and somewhere to top your car back up, I doubt it will be free usually a company like Ecotricity charges you through a card system but it generally equates to 2p a mile.

I was quite sceptical of electric cars but I now drive a Nissan Leaf as a company car and for me personally it saves me quite a bit of money because I only use it to work and back and I can charge it free there.

The problem with the cars as far as I can see is residual values because people are sceptical and also the expensive batteries which someone has mentioned so the second hand market is still difficult for these cars.

As far as New cars go the Nissan Dealer where I work was selling a New Leaf for under £200 a month on a 2 year PCP contract in March which when you take your fuel bill out of the equation isn't bad for a 25k car. I know you don't own it etc but it takes away the worry of any residual and several people from Accrington did purchase one.

Like I said previously I was quite sceptical myself but I think it's one way city/town cars might go in the future.

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Sorry another obvious problem is the range of these cars currently around 100 miles this should improve with newer models to around 200 miles this is why charging points are important and the infrastructure needs building up.

If anyone is interested in an electric car you really need off street parking to charge it at night but if anyone wants to try one we have a demo car you can have for up to 4 days to see what you think.

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Sadly it is not that easy.

Yes you can get a car for under £200 per month for two years, but the reality is this.
Your deposit £3099.50
24 monthly payments £199.00
This is based on 7500 miles per year, after that it is 10p per mile.
Total spend £7875.50
(Current Nissan Offer, terms and conditions etc)

Remember you don't own the car and when you return it you could be liable for any damage to the car, (many years ago, I was a car salesman, Lythgoe Peugeot and others, before changing careers, so I do know what I am talking about)

Compared to my car, a large Diesel Estate, which is paid for and does an average 50 mpg and nearly has as much tech on it as a Leaf, I could drive, at current Diesel prices, 75,400 miles, As I tend to drive 15 to 20,000 miles per year there is no way I could ever justify an electric car, even a BMW i8.

Of course there are other things to take in to account, service costs, tyres, road tax, etc

I have no doubt that they have a place, but seeing there are Diesel cars out there that have 80mpg+, I cannot see a bright future for them.

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Something will have to replace fossil fuel cars and something will have to replace the way we make electricity so the two could go very much hand in hand. It's still very early days yet. It's only the last 15 years ish that most people would even have considered a diesel car.

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My son has a mate with a BMW i8, Simon.
Not a very practicable car but a posers motor.
He let my son drive it and here it is.
Apparently on a 500 mile run without any charging points it manages about 18 MPG with its little engine, the fuel tank holds enough for about 80miles.

I'll stick to my gas guzzling 4X4, 24.3 mpg, it's done 11,000 since new and is capable of doing over 40MPH, as I found out last week when I was caught at 48MPH in a 40 zone.
Last bit of dual carriageway on the Nelson end of the Padiham by-pass. Only thing about was the police camera car.
my first offence since passing my test in 1957. I have been very lucky indeed.

Re: Electric Car Charger
 

That's the sales pitch, now let's talk facts.

You want the infrastructure. You'll pay for it? No, the taxpayers will have to to, £40k to £60K a time.
How many do you want? Thousands? Poor taxpayer.

Free car/free charging, company car. Excellent- for popping into work and back.
Have you ever had a day out in the Lakes in it? Can't do that.
Taken the family on holiday in it? Can't do that.
Ahh, you have a proper car to do those things in? I'm sure you do. Not many can afford a proper car and a £25K toy for doing a few miles a day.

£200/month not bad for a £25k car? But it's not a £25k car, it's a £12,000 city car with no engine,just a very expensive battery.
I can buy a much better Focus for half that, £12K will pay for a lot of miles(about 155,000!).

Range 100 miles? You'll be lucky, especially in hilly country like East Lancs.
You can't fully charge the battery, the car won't let you because it damages it.
You can't let it go flat because- guess what, it damages it.
You can't fast charge it too often because-yes it damages it.
Your realistic range- about 70 miles?
In sub zero conditions(you get them in Accrington) one Leaf showed a range of 32 miles when fully charged. It ran out after 8 miles.

Worried about battery life and residuals? I should think so. What do Nissan charge for a new one? £3000? Possibly more? Guarantee life? 5 years?
Rent the battery for £70/month? That's 1000 miles a month in the Focus- so you get to work and back free in your £13000 car with a trip to the Lakes thrown in. And you've still got 155,000 miles to play with.

No, you can keep your £25000 toy, I'll wait for a practical solution.

Re: Electric Car Charger
 

I could not agree more Neil, BMW have been leading the move to 'Lean Burn' engines in recent years, the uber efficient 320d only emits 109 carbons and is £30 road tax per year, still goes like stink and returns a real world 60+mpg. Ironically M Thatcher, wanted to push lean burn back in the 80's, but the car lobby managed to lobby against the idea and instead went for the much cheaper catalytic converter instead.
We have to find an alternative to internal combustion engines, but whether that is Electric or not we will see.

Russell, love the i8, but I too also have a car that can go above 40 mph, some say it's limited to 155!! Cannot say I have been there! and it's a gas guzzler, it will be my long suffering other halls car when the Estate arrives in a few weeks. Nice to know my V6 is nearly as economic as your 4x4 !

Re: Electric Car Charger
 

We did several Leafs for £150 a month with a £500 deposit and a couple of those live in Accrington. No battery rental £150 that's it for 2 years and yes I'm sure they will just hand them back at the end.


Don't want to get into any arguments like I said I was very sceptical as well, only time will tell if they become popular.

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Fair enough, however they will become very popular, just like the Prius, another car I cannot stand.

Re: Electric Car Charger
 

Shame about that. If you'd been doing 47 they probably wouldn't have done you-10%+3MPH seems to be the unwritten rule. I got done a few years ago rolling down a hill at 37-they said at 36 they wouldn't have bothered.

Fair enough, no argument intended. But I feel it's very much a second car for very short journeys. Be honest, working where you do I'll bet your proper car is a Qashqai or an X Trail(I love mine, keep looking at the new ones but I'll have to wait 'till they're a couple of years old).

The deal you did wasn't bad but I'd be terrified of going on a car park, people are so careless with their doors. As BG said, you want them back like new and that's not easy over 2 years.

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Wrong Gordon i was done fer doing 34 in a 30 approx 3/4 yrs back had to go to Bury for one of those speed courses or whatever they call em, was done on that road oer tops from Helmshore to Tottington. Maybe it depends on the area yer in?:confused: was my first offence also.

Re: Electric Car Charger
 

ahh theres your problem cashy

you were in helmshore where anything over 30mph is deemed as witchcraft.Your lucky you didn't get the duckingstool :D

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That was tough, it's hard to keep to 30 max, a slight downhill, as I found, and you can soon speed up. Mind you Wales was worse under the 'Mullah' Brunstrom. You got done for 31/32.

I was offered a 'speed course' but on the day I was having a bad heart day so couldn't go.Rang up to re-book it-'Sorry, can't do that',end of.
So I ended up paying £80 for the course,£60 fine, 3 points and God knows how much extra on insurance. Not a good day.
Bought a Talex camera warning thing straight away, they make you very aware of your speed and nag you to death- when the satnav joins in its worse than the wife. Never speed now:D

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My disgrace caught on camera just within tolerances that costs me money, I was offered the course or points on licence took the course, it did no good I still drive the way I normally do. (For good or bad). One piece of advice I ignored was "in town always drive in third gear, it may cost you fuel but it reminds you not to speed up to fourth".
I don't drive a fuel gussling car but I would if I took those guys seriously.
It's just another form of jobs for the boy's (retired speed cops) and money in the coffers to pay for ignoring other problems.

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I agree unless you have a second car there probably are a bit pointless our other car is a petrol Zafira !!! for the kids and that eats fuel so I try to save some pennies where I can, it probably saves me £100 quid a month by using it but if its a day out were all in the Zafira.

Regarding handing them back, most accept fair wear and tear but any customers we have on contract hire who tend to hand them back we sort the dings and scratches at cost before the finance companies pick them up, just keeps everyone happy then.

I'm by no means a convert and at 25K its madness to buy one outright I'd agree but the PCP was just a bargain I felt. Its early technology at the moment I'm sure it will get cheaper and more popular in the future.

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The latest madness here is to cover every road and street except the main roads with 20MPH signs.
Expected cost- £250,000 for the main town area, £1.5 million for the borough!
Even the big wide main avenues with no schools etc. on them are 20MPH.
Trouble is we have hardly any police left(we can't afford them??) so I don't know how it will be enforced.Vigilantes perhaps?
Most drivers seem to be ignoring it.
It's a good job we're short of money, Heaven knows what else they'd get up to if they could afford it.

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Thorneyholme Road is probably the best surfaced road in Accy and wide as well and people still do 50+ mph even though its now a 20 !!!

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Do they? Really? I'm sure there are some that abuse the 20 limit but by that much? As for it being the best surface, is it still a cobbled street? I suspect that if we took away the tarmac and went back to the underlying cobbles nature would restrict speeding and no need for car ruining speed humps built everywhere.

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speed bumps are so huge around here they get their own potholes in the middle of them

if theres a speed bump in a 30mph zone you should be able to drive over that speed bump at 30mph without wrecking your wheel or suspension , not have to hire a Sherpa to guide you over it

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Just seen an article on Autocar online about speed cameras.
It says the guidance from the Association of Chief Police Officers is to prosecute if the driver is exceeding the limit by 10%+2 mph.
Mind you that's only guidance! I suppose each force sets it's own levels depending how much money it's supposed to raise.:D

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Has anyone seen the Car Charger being used yet?

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I saw the charging bay being used yesterday. Not with an electric car though.

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It says 10% + 3mph on the paper work I received last week.
I was doing 48 in a 40mph zone. The paper also says you are allowed to attend a speed awareness course if you had not exceeded 52mph in a 40 zone, after that it was a court appearance.
That in Lancashire.

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What happens at a speed awareness course?
Do you have to accept you were speeding and now you're aware of it?
If so job done.:alright:

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I don't know Si,
First offence (I've been caught for) in 57 years.
It costs £95 but saves getting points on the licence or the £100 fine.
I haven't nothing else on that day so it's trip out.
I wouldn't go if I had to loose a day's pay.
Always remember the last bit of the dual carraigway at the Nelson end of the Padiham by pass is 40moh and you won't get done.
I'll probably have to write that 100 times and stand on the naught step.
Where are you nowadays, I keep looking for your car so I can come in for a brew and another few lessons.

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If you say sorry I am sure you will be fine. £95 ouch. Last time I got caught it was £60 fine plus points.

We are in most days, sadly my old car had to go and the old estate is due to go in a few weeks. Your always welcome to drop in mate. Just in case I will pm you my mobile number

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Check with cashman, I'm sure he went on one and said it was OK.
You'll save a heck of a lot more than £95 on your insurance over 5 years as you're not done for speeding therefore no need to tell the insurance companies.
Wish I'd been able to go, cost me a bomb.

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I wonder how long it will be before the Big Issue seller starts to plug an electric fire into the car charge point.
Or some bod tries to charge a mobile phone.
It's bound to happen.

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Yup , twice in last 3 days.

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Looks as though it is going to be as cost efficient as the "Click & Collect":rolleyes: