A FARNHAM councillor has issued a challenge to his borough counterparts following opposition to a trial of on-street electric car charging points in Waverley, saying: “If you don’t want them, let us have them all in Farnham.”

Wyatt Ramsdale, county councillor for Farnham South, made his bold declaration during a meeting of Surrey County Council’s Waverley Local Committee last Friday after fellow members grumbled that charging points would be of little use to most residents, and would take away vital on-street parking spaces.

Members did eventually vote to allow a public consultation on 11 potential on-street charging point locations across Waverley to proceed later this summer.

But only after a number of members threatened to push back a decision on the consultation to the committee’s November meeting.

One objector, Godalming South, Milford and Witley councillor Peter Martin, said there are still “very few” electric vehicles on the roads, and expressed concern at the proposed loss of four parking spaces in Brighton Road, Godalming, where he said “there have been fisticuffs over spaces”.

A number of councillors also shared Cllr Martin’s concern that local members had been consulted on the proposed sites.

One of whom, Nikki Barton, Haslemere county councillor, said: “This is great and we have to try towards some behaviour change. There will be some discomfort. But it would have been good to have had some consultation with members on the ground, as well as officers.”

However, Cherrie Mendoza, SCC transport strategy project manager, warned any delay would likely set back a trial of the charging points by a further year – a delay Cllr Ramsdale said he is not willing to accept in view of Farnham’s air quality issues.

He said: “I have, in the past couple of years, been a massive critic that we’re not getting off our backsides and doing somethig about air quality. So I’m therefore delighted Cherrie has come forward with these proposals.

“Let’s crack on with this. As it’s been clearly stated, this is a trial, and we’re even consulting members of the public on where we will do the trials – never mind where we’re going to implement the charging points long term.

“Peter, if you don’t want them in Brighton Road, well that’s good for me because it means there’s greater likelihood that we can have them in Farnham.

“Personally, I’ll be disappointed if Farnham doesn’t get two or three of the four or five trial sites. We’ve got massive demand in terms of popularity for action on air quality and the environment, we’ve got the biggest air quality problem in Waverley and possibly Surrey, and lots of people are in favour.”

Jerry Hyman, borough councillor for Farnham Firgrove, also called for more charging points to be located in Farnham, as the only town with a designated Air Quality Management Area (AQMA) in place.

Four of the proposed 11 sites are located in Farnham – in Falkner Road, West Street, Hale Road and High Park Road – but none within the AQMA.

Other sites are proposed in Beacon Hill Road, Godalming (x3), Haslemere (Wey Hill and Christopher Green) and Bramley.

Many local authorities, including Waverley Borough Council, have already introduced electric car charging points in their car parks. But if the trial goes ahead, Surrey will be one of the first councils in the country to adopt on-street electric car charging points for residents.

Ms Mendoza added funding is already in place for a trial of 11 of the potential sites.