Haslemere Town Council (HTC) has sent a planning suggestion to Waverley Borough Council about plans to alter the M&S car park on Lion Lane. 

The current planning application is for the provision of four electric vehicle charging bays with their own dedicated charging unit and associated lighting and electrical equipment, including CCTV cameras and 3m poles. The HTC planning committee met on Thursday, September 14 and discussed this plan in length.

While the council felt the proposal was in-keeping with its climate emergency declaration, it was concerned the site already lacks parking and to replace four of the spaces with charging spaces would have a knock on effect on the surrounding road users. Lion Lane is already busy and having the EV charging spaces would encourage people to stay parked longer to get charged up. 

The committee agreed that two charging spaces would be more appropriate and voted to offer this comment to Waverley Borough Council.