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Residents of Wood Street, in Bognor Regis, braved gale-force winds and heavy rain earlier this week to protest plans for six electronic parking points outside their homes.

They say the parking points, which are due to be installed after a £1.8 million grant to the West Sussex Chargepoint Network, will lead to 24 hour disruption as electronic car drivers plug in and charge up at ‘any time of the day or night.’

Alongside this, there are also fears the charging points will take up six extra spaces in the narrow street, exacerbating long-running issues with parking spaces in the area.

"This is one of the most beleaguered streets in Bognor when it comes to parking,” said long time resident Gill Guest. “It’s already terrible here. There’s a building down one end which has been earmarked for a 35 bedsit, where are they all going to park?

Wood Street residents protesting plans for six electronic vehicle charging points on their road. Photo: Jessica Hubbard

The charging points will be installed free of charge by provider Kerb Connect on behalf of West Sussex County Council and make up one part of plans to introduce 450 on-street charge points to car parks and roads throughout the county.

“They’re a commercial company,” Mrs Guest added. “They clearly don’t know Wood Street, they haven’t surveyed it. They don’t know what it’s like here."

The residents say electronic charging points are an environmentally responsible idea, but don’t think Wood Street is the right location – something Deputy Mayor Matt Stanley agrees with.

"I think everyone appreciates the need that's not in dispute,” he said. “The question is, ‘why here?’. You’ve got a very old, narrow one-way street and parking here is a significant challenge at the best of times. So it just seems a bizarre choice that this is the only site for off-street parking points in the whole town.”

ConnectedKerb has been approached for comment.

A spokesperson for West Sussex County Council said: “We have received a number of objections from Wood Street residents and would like to thank people for their feedback and reassure them that all comments will be carefully considered before any decision is made on whether or not to provide chargepoints there.”

Other chargepoints have been commissioned for a number of sites across the county, including Horsham, Burgess Hill and Billingshurst.

To find out more, visit www.connectedkerb.com

'Wood Street says no' - residents slam plans for charging points in Bognor Regis as protest launched