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Only five of the UK’s biggest theme and adventure parks currently
offer electric vehicle (EV) charging facilities but the situation
is set to improve in the coming months, according to a new study
by the RAC.*
Just Thorpe Park in Surrey, Chessington in London, Blackpool
Pleasure Beach, Crealy in Devon and M&Ds in Scotland provide
EV chargers for visitors, with many other popular and well-loved
attractions in other regions currently offering none at all. At
the five parks that have some provision, the average number of
chargers on offer is four.
The parks that currently don’t offer any charging facilities
include such well-known names as Legoland Windsor in Berkshire,
Alton Towers in Staffordshire, Gulliver’s sites in Cheshire,
Yorkshire and Buckinghamshire and Oakwood in Wales. But the good
news is that the first two of these parks have publicly committed
to installing chargers before the end of the year.
The RAC study also looked at the nearest ultra-rapid chargers to
top theme parks as the next most convenient place to charge on a
day out and found they were an average of seven miles away, with
each offering an average of only five chargers each. In some
parts of the country however, drivers need to travel much
further, with the closest ultra-rapid chargers to Pleasurewood
Hills in Suffolk and Flamingo Land in North Yorkshire being some
25 miles away.
RAC Charge Watch
data shows that drivers currently pay on average 73p per
kWh of electricity at an ultra-rapid (100kW+) charger, making an
80% charge of a family-sized EV currently cost £37.39. If public
chargers were only subject to 5% VAT like home chargers, that
cost would be around £4 cheaper.
Comparisons with major theme parks elsewhere in Europe show just
how different the situation can be when it comes to on-site
electric vehicle charging. Efteling in the Netherlands has
capacity for 174 electric cars to charge at once, while
PortAventura in Spain can accommodate 150 cars charging and
Europa Park in Germany offers 32 chargers. It’s far from a
perfect picture everywhere however, with Disneyland Paris and
Gardaland in Italy having just four chargers each.
RAC spokesman Rod Dennis said: “Even though most people visiting
adventure and theme parks in electric cars will be starting out
fully charged from home, many will still need to charge on the
way back depending on the length of their journey and their
vehicle’s range. For those travelling considerable distances to
reach them it surely makes sense to have some chargers at theme
parks as cars will be parked for long periods, making slower
chargers ideal.
“It’s a little disappointing therefore to find some big-name
attractions aren’t yet providing any charging facilities, but the
situation is thankfully changing with several having stated
they’re looking into installing chargers in the near future. We
look forward to these plans becoming a reality to make drivers’
lives easier.
“As things stand, families with electric cars who need to
recharge after enjoying a day out will no doubt be relying on
ultra-rapid chargers to get on the move again as quickly as
possible. Our research shows drivers will have to travel only an
average of seven miles from a theme park to reach one of these,
although in some parts of the country the distance is
considerably further. Fortunately, with every month that passes
provision is improving and in fact over the last 12 months the
number of ultra-rapid chargers in the UK has nearly doubled to
8,772.**
“Some leading theme parks in other parts of Europe are currently
putting the UK in the shade when it comes to more extensive
electric charging infrastructure. As they’ve decided it’s right
to put chargers for their visitors in place, we now need all
major theme park operators in the UK to come to the same
conclusion.”
Quentin Willson, automotive journalist and founder of
the EV campaign
FairCharge, added: “Theme parks are an obvious example of how
we need to make sure the UK’s future charging infrastructure
really is joined up. Parks, attractions, museums, holiday
centres, hotels and leisure facilities need to have plenty of
chargers for visitors in EVs. Drivers will base their leisure
choice destinations - as many already do - on if there are
reliable charging facilities. This is the future.”
In a bid to stimulate the take-up of electric vehicles and make
public charging more cost-effective, the RAC is supporting
the FairCharge campaign’s
call to get VAT on public electricity reduced from 20% to match
the 5% domestic rate.
Ends
Notes to Editors
* Analysis of 18 theme park sites across the UK during August:
Alton Towers, Blackpool Pleasure Beach, Chessington, Crealy Theme
Park, Drayton Manor, Fantasy Island, Flamingo Land, Gulliver's
Land, Gulliver's Valley, Gulliver's World, Legoland Windsor,
Lightwater Valley, M&Ds, Oakwood, Paultons Park, Pleasurewood
Hills, Thorpe Park. Sites analysed elsewhere in Europe:
Disneyland Paris, Europa Park in Germany, De Efteling in
Netherlands, Walt Disney Studios in France, Port Aventura in
Spain, Gardaland in Italy, Tusenfryd in Norway
** Source: Zapmap https://www.zap-map.com/ev-stats/how-many-charging-points
