More car parking spaces are set to become available by late-September at the St Ives Park & Ride site.
Works have been ongoing at the Park & Ride site to create an innovative Smart Energy Grid. This involves installing solar canopies over a section of the car park. Following feedback from local Councillors and residents, the currently closed section of car park is planned to reopen after white lining works have been completed. The electric vehicle charging facilities will become available to use later this year.
The energy generated by the solar photovoltaic panels will create renewable electricity which will power the site, the electric vehicle charging points and will feed into the local grid, as well as providing power to a local customer.
The project will pay for itself with revenue from energy creation over its lifetime and create revenue for the county council to help fund its services. Costs totalled £5.6 million and were part-funded by the European Regional Development Fund which was awarded before the EU-exit agreement.
Electric charging facilities are expected to be available from November. The county council’s electric vehicle charging provision is being coordinated across the council’s locations, so drivers can use the same app and type of chargers at different Park & Ride sites.
CCTV has been put in place across the St Ives Park & Ride site, which can view all areas under the canopies. This has been installed to discourage anti-social behaviour.
Chair of Cambridgeshire County Council’s Environment and Green Investment Committee, Councillor Lorna Dupre said: “We’d like to thank local people for their understanding whilst works have been ongoing and the amount of space for parking has been reduced.
“This has been a complex project and was significantly affected by manufacturing delays due to both Covid-19 and the Russian invasion of Ukraine. These issues have been felt across the construction industry.
“Now, our contractors Equans have nearly finished their work. We’ve listened to local people who have told us that they would like to have the parking spaces re-opened as soon as possible even if that means before the electric vehicle charging facilities become available in a couple of months’ time.”
The St Ives Park & Ride Smart Energy Grid will start with up to 10 electric vehicle charging points which will be powered by the solar canopies. There is provision for up to 100 EV charging points on the site. As demand for EV charging increases locally, more charge points can be installed with minimal disruption to those using the site.
