PARTS of Argyll and Bute may not be accessible to electric vehicles, a councillor has warned.
Council officials are assessing proposed hub allocations and network provision in the area as part of a programme of work to facilitate electric vehicles.
However, Councillor Alastair Redman (Independent, Kintyre and the Islands) warned that return travel may not be possible in some parts of Argyll and Bute due to the siting of charging points.
The discussion took place at a meeting of the authority’s environment, development and infrastructure committee on Thursday, March 19.
Councillor Redman said: “The whole chamber knows I am very sceptical about electric cars in general, but if this is to be forced on us, we have to make it so our constituents can navigate.
“My fellow councillors are aware that there are parts of Argyll and Bute you simply cannot go to, because there are no charging facilities. You can get there, but you cannot get back.
“A lot of ferry ports do not have charging points and I wondered what officers’ thoughts were on the quantity of charging points and the positioning of them?
“If everybody goes electric there will be areas of Argyll that you simply cannot reach, and not all charging ports work with each other.”
Andy Summers, the council’s head of roads and infrastructure services, said: “What we have been given is the best part of £1 million of funding.
“While it is very welcome, it is not going to go as far as we would like it to, so we want to find an approach that maximises the return on investment.
“The big parts are land availability, and also network connectivity, so I take Councillor Redman’s point. For certain locations it is going to be very difficult.
“But the council is taking the best possible approach within the resources and constraints we are working under. I know that is a general answer but it is the best approach we can take in the circumstances.
“There are certain bays that have their own charging network and what we are trying to do is provide the highest level of service we can for the broadest range of vehicles we can.”
Councillor William Sinclair (Liberal Democrat, Cowal) then said: “I am going to agree with Councillor Redman. It is a worry, given that Argyll and Bute is so highly involved in tourism, how many charging points are around.
“I have got one of the busiest ferry terminals in Scotland, so it is about how tourists are going to get around Argyll and Bute.”
Mr Summers said: “We cannot do this ourselves as we do not have the funding, we do not have the land and in some areas we do not have the connectivity.
“We are trying to fill some of the gaps we have, but also create a market to support that and meet the aspirations Councillor Sinclair has outlined.”
