A Northampton woman has criticized the council for approving plans to build a charging point for electric cars outside of her home.
Suzanne Avil says she is saddened that a potential “chest-high” graffiti screen and a tall metal pole were placed outside her home on Vicarage Road as part of an electric vehicle charging port installation.
The 59-year-old podiatrist said she had never been consulted by West Northamptonshire Council (WNC) about the plans, which is why she “spreads such a stench.”
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Suzanne Avil stood next to the gray box and the tall metal bar in front of her house that is part of a new charging point for electric cars
However, WNC says it sent two letters to every house on the street.
Suzanne said, “I’m really angry and very, very upset about the way it is [WNC] went to it.
“The council said the box will be discreet but it is light gray and is a canvas for teenagers to put up graffiti on. I can guarantee she will have graffiti in a couple of weeks.
“We have them at McDonald’s and Tesco, which is fair enough, but placing them outside of someone’s property without informing them is disgusting.
“I would be interested to know if they approved other charging ports that are directly outside of someone else’s property.”
Suzanne said the council said it had sent her letters through the mail, that the planning information was available online and that a public consultation had taken place as part of the process.
However, Suzanne said she could not find plans online, had not received a letter and had not been consulted.
She said: “The Council is basically saying, ‘We followed the right protocol, so hard’.
“You can’t prove we got a letter, and we can’t prove we didn’t. Do you really think I would stink if I knew about it?
“It’s okay for the council to say that it received over 400 responses in the consultation, but I talked to the neighbors and they didn’t know these charging ports were coming.
“The council said it worked on the plans in the right way. I find it very difficult to find this ‘readily available’ information. And who has time to read the Chronicle and the Echo?
“I find it disgusting. It’s almost like the council is above the law.
However, Suzanne admits that electric cars will stay and are a part of the future.
She said: “We understand that the way forward is with electric vehicles in the future, but I am angry at the way the Council acted because we were not informed.
“I’m offended because we’re trying to sell our property. In the future this could be a selling point, but if I saw it now it would deter me from buying and affect the price of our home.
“And who can afford electric cars? I know a lot of people and I can’t think of anyone who has an electric car. I’m not a snob, but I don’t think people can afford one here.”
When asked what Suzanne would like to do next, she said, “There is nothing we can do about it now.”
A West Northamptonshire Council spokesman said: “Royal Mail sent two letters to every house along every street facing trial and to houses within 50 meters of the property.
“A building permit is required for the installation of charging points, so this project was the subject of the statutory planning consultation process, which sent letters directly to the houses near the charging points, information in the consultation area of the council’s website, planning notes on lamp posts, and two consultation notes in the classified section of the Northampton Chronicle and Echo published. “
