Wrexham Council is looking to work with private companies to increase the number of electric vehicle (EV) charging points across the county.

An update on the council’s decarbonisation plan was given at its Homes and Environment scrutiny committee by deputy leader Cllr David A Bithell, lead member for Housing.

He said: “There’s lots more to be done, this is only the start of the journey and it has taken a little bit of time to get to where we are today but I am pleased with the progress we’re making.”

Jayne Rodgers, Climate Change and Carbon Reduction manager explained the council has secured funding from Sport Wales for EV points at leisure centres, and is progressing with open spaces for tree planting, growing wildflower meadows and reducing energy usage across council departments.

Ponciau Cllr Paul Pemberton, chairing the meeting, said he was unsure about an aspect of the plan which included working with the private sector to provide more EV charging points across the county.

He feared rural points of the county outside of the city centre might not be well-served if they were unprofitable.

Cllr Pemberton said: “I honestly can’t see what return they’d be getting if they put one by Ponciau Banks playing field for example.”

Ms Rodgers said the private companies were making a long-term investment, anticipating a greater demand in the future and that they could be contracted to provide points in less urban areas.

She said: “The principle is forward working – they envisage there will be a time when there are more electric vehicles than there are currently and more people will be using them.

“Obviously there is a differentiation between urban and rural, less affluent and more affluent communities.

“We will have a discussion with them. If they put EV charging stations in the city centre because that’s where they will get the biggest return, that has to be offset and compensated by coverage in less well used or less urban areas.”

“We give permission because we’re the highways authority, they can’t just put them wherever they like, so ultimately we’ve got quite a lot of control over where they can put them.”

Pant and Johnstown Cllr Steve Joe Jones (Ind) said he was concerned about charging points being damaged and the time it takes to repair them when people might come to rely on them.

Brymbo Cllr Paul Rogers (Ind) made the point that many council properties, particularly without driveways, would never be suitable for the installation electric of vehicle charging points, which was echoed by Penycae Cllr John Phillips (Ind).

Ms Rodgers said the authority would be careful about who it works with to deliver the best service.

She added that the current transport strategy is to look at reducing the demand for vehicle travel first and foremost, explaining: “If we try to replace every vehicle we currently run now with electric vehicles, that is not going to be possible because we won’t have the charging infrastructure.”

Wrexham Council currently has 15 charging stations in the county and officers have met with five private providers happy to contribute towards the costs.

Concerns were also raised about the costs involved in the decarbonisation plan.

Cllr Bithell said: “The reality is everyone wants a charging point but someone’s got to pay for it.”

He explained that money from the council’s solar farm goes into decarbonisation work, and that unless grants become available from the Welsh Government the authority would struggle to fully roll-out its decarbonisation plan.