I asked council officers when the EV chargers being installed at Hillside School will go live. Early in the new year, is the answer. Here is the full response.

“When we provided the most recent update, we had been assured by our contractor that the delays caused by covid were resolved and completion of works would be undertaken this autumn. The contractor had been given a date by the distribution network operator (SSEN) of end of October for the connection to be made and that would allow our contractor to complete the installation process thereafter.

“The latest update we have had from the contractor is that, due to a failure on our contractor to complete the booking of SSEN, the date of October 2021 has expired and the works need to be rebooked. This is extremely frustrating as the lead time for such works is 4-6 weeks and it is now likely to be into the new year before the units are connected and fully commissioned.

“Although it is of no consolation for this particular site, this is the last of the EV installations to be carried out by this specific contractor.”

The developer obligation funds were allocated to specific projects following approval at Kincardine and Mearns Area Committee. In terms of an analysis of where to site the EV chargers, there was a difficulty identifying a site in Portlethen that was under council ownership and had an adequate power supply nearby for the units. Hillside School met these requirements. The developer obligation funding was for sustainable transport.

These are public chargers that are available for use by anyone, visitors or residents. The developer obligation funding could only be utilised in the Hillside area and on sustainable transport projects.

And finally, it is planned to rectify the spaces marked green in error.