Draft Regulation 18 Sandwell Local Plan
Planning for Low Emission Vehicles
11.63 The UK government has committed to banning the sale of petrol and diesel cars by 2030. The resultant societal shift from petrol and diesel internal combustion engine (ICE) vehicles to ULEVs will require widespread support from local authorities. It is projected that there will an addition 42,500 ULEVs within the Black Country by 2025. The Black Country ULEV strategy sets out a framework for how the authorities can support this transition
(6) Policy STR9 – Planning for Low Emission Vehicles
- Proposals for low emission vehicles will be supported by:
- Ensuring that new developments include adequate provision for charging infrastructure e.g., electric vehicle charging points in car parks, measures to encourage LEV use through travel plans and other initiatives.
- Where appropriate the Council will facilitate the introduction of charging points in public locations.
- Working with partners to explore support for alternative low emission vehicle technologies, such hydrogen fuel cells, across a range of modes; private cars, buses and / or small passenger and fleet vehicles
Justification
11.64 In July 2019, the West Midlands Combined Authority committed to setting a 'net zero' emissions target by 2041, with a climate action plan being approved by the WMCA board by January 2020. The WMCA Board further approved a regional ULEV strategy, in February 2020. The Black Country ULEV strategy sits under this regional document. Whilst the WMCA ULEV Strategy focusses on sharing best practice, co-ordination and possible joint delivery of a large-scale network of rapid charging 'hubs', the Black Country ULEV strategy takes a more granular approach, focussing on the specifics of each authority and offering a framework for the delivery on infrastructure on the ground.
11.65 The study found that the Black Country lags behind the rest of the country when it comes to adoption of ULEVs. This is reflected in the availability of charging infrastructure across the four authorities, with around 80% of the sub-region further than one km from the nearest publicly available charge point. However, relative to median wage, Sandwell sits on or above the trend for ULEV adoption, indicating higher uptake than might be expected given the average wage across each of the four authorities.
