Tesla Announcement - access road restrictions at Newport Pagnell and Charnock Richard

[Terry_B58]

IMPORTANT NEWS & A STATEMENT FROM TESLA:

Welcome Break are installing ANPR cameras on the access roads between each side at Newport Pagnell and Charnock Richard. They are under pressure from Highways England to comply with the following:

In order to avoid the creation of unofficial road junctions, there must be no through connection to the associated motorway or all-purpose trunk road. Where subsidiary accesses may be approved it will be restricted to staff, deliveries, parties carrying out duties for and on behalf of the Secretary of State for Transport, the emergency services, and breakdown recovery and assistance.

Unfortunately, this means that no Tesla drivers will be able to cross between the services and we have updated the in car navigation to reflect this. [I've confirmed today 17th January that all cars will reflect this change by end of the week].

We are working with Welcome Break to build sites on the opposing sides of both services.

 

[Terry_B58]

Found on another group

 

[Chuq]

So this means the current sites can be renamed to "Newport Pagnell - Southbound" and "Charnock Richard - Northbound" respectively, and we can assume supercharge.info "blue dots" at the respective sites on the opposite side of each?

 

[richrootes]

Typical UK response to a problem - throw up some cameras and mail out some violation slips

One of the reasons I found it so easy to get out of Dodge....

 

[Fellsteruk]

I wonder if burtonwood will be next as that have an exit around the back the continue southbound if they closed it. You’d have to go back on yourself one junction to continue southbound.

Thankfully the Winwick junction is only about 5 mins down the m62 but still a PITA

 

[Asterix187]

Hopefully not at Woodall as well...

 

[arg]

Woodall we know already has planning for superchargers on the other side, and does seem likely to be affected by the clamp down on service roads.

Burtonwood however AIUI is an official access rather than a service road, since the single site now provides all facilities to both directions of traffic.

 

[thegruf]

how much of this is because of that stupid fight with Ecotricity who should never have been allowed exclusivity in the way that they were, and even given that exclusivity should not have sought to impose it against vehicles for which their offering was unsuitable.

 

[arg]

how much of this is because of that stupid fight with Ecotricity who should never have been allowed exclusivity in the way that they were, and even given that exclusivity should not have sought to impose it against vehicles for which their offering was unsuitable.

Probably this current issue is nothing to do with that. A confidential settlement was reached with Ecotricity back in 2015; we don't know exactly what was in it, but within days of the settlement being announced Superchargers were going in on Welcome Break sites, and Tesla/Welcome Break have had a strong relationship since.

This current issue appears to be a Government/Highways England one, and is not just affecting EV charging but also other users - like the hotel at Charnock Richard which used to have signs directing you to it via the service road from the southbound side, but no longer allows that.

 

[Chuq]

who should never have been allowed exclusivity in the way that they were

Ecotricity were installing chargers way before it was profitable - it was a risk that they probably would not have taken, had another company been able to jump in just as fast chargers were becoming economically viable. Having said that, it was fair that Tesla was permitted to install superchargers, given that Ecotricity didn't offer anything comparable at the time.

Anyway, not really relevant, as @arg says this decision is nothing to do with charging networks themselves.

 

[Terry_B58]

Regarding Charnock Richard, as I have lived in the Chorley area for 30 years, I remember various barriers at Charnock Richard, well before Tesla and the Superchargers.

This unofficial access has been used on and off by locals to access the motorway, they just 'took a chance' that the barrier was open that day.

If you are booked into the Hotel then you are allowed access, as details are pre registered. This is all about safety and the local roads cannot take all the traffic from the motorway.

 

[RB72]

So, I use Newport Pagnell when visiting my son over in Bedford.
I travel north on the m1 come off at the junction before the services, travel through and then use the barrier code to get into the charging area. When finished I either go south on the m1 or back through the barrier towards Bedford.
Is this still ok to do ? Or is there a preferred route ?
Thanks , don’t want to get a ticket.

 

[Terry_B58]

So, I use Newport Pagnell when visiting my son over in Bedford.
I travel north on the m1 come off at the junction before the services, travel through and then use the barrier code to get into the charging area. When finished I either go south on the m1 or back through the barrier towards Bedford.
Is this still ok to do ? Or is there a preferred route ?
Thanks , don’t want to get a ticket.

No, the code for the barrier gets changed regularly.

Either go to the junction after and double back, or use Northampton (a bit further North).

 

[IanMcL]

I wrote to Christopher Grayling, the inept Minister of Transport and Jim O'Sullivan, the CEO of Highways England , last week, about Charnock Richard. On the one hand, the Government are trying to go electric and on the other, preventing growth. There is absolutely no reason why Hotel + Tesla users should not have access through the bollards. Both are legitimate uses.

 

[Terry_B58]

There is absolutely no reason why Hotel + Tesla users should not have access through the bollards. Both are legitimate uses.

Yes, but the access is via the motorway to the services.

 

[Asterix187]

No, the code for the barrier gets changed regularly.

Either go to the junction after and double back, or use Northampton (a bit further North).

Just remember to register immediately at Northampton.

 

[IanMcL]

Yes, but the access is via the motorway to the services.

?
Not sure what you mean.
At Charnock Richard Southbound, there are no chargers. You use the service road to cross to Northbound, only to be greeted by the bollard across the entrance to the hotel, where the 12 chargers are located.

 

[Terry_B58]

At Charnock Richard Southbound, there are no chargers. You use the service road to cross to Northbound, only to be greeted by the bollard across the entrance to the hotel, where the 12 chargers are located.

To access the Superchargers from the Southbound you must travel to the next junction then double back. The service road' is not for public use, it never has been (officially).

 

[IanMcL]

To access the Superchargers from the Southbound you must travel to the next junction then double back. The service road' is not for public use, it never has been (officially).

The sign used to say, Hotel & Tesla.

 

[IanMcL]

Had a response from the ministry, which says, 'not us Guv'. However, it goes on to say that all chargers must be available to all EV users, in future, proposed legislation.

That's not good!
Still awaiting Highways England response.

.......
Thank you for your follow up response of Tue 05/02/2019 about the access from Charnock Richard services south to north being accessible only for the hotel guests and not the Tesla users requiring use of the TWELVE superchargers. This has been passed to the Office for Low Emission Vehicles for reply. I am sorry the previous reply did not properly address your queries. You mention that Highways England have changed the access for the Charnock Richard services. This is not something that OLEV has control over. I would suggest that you contact Highways England and speak to the chargepoint operators (Ecotricity electric vehicle charging point and Tesla Supercharger) to enquire why this has happened in the first instance. Going forward, the Automated and Electric Vehicles Act passed through Parliament last year. The Act gives Government new powers to further improve the customer experience and interoperability of public electric vehicle infrastructure. These include powers to regulate technical standards of infrastructure to ensure compatibility with all vehicles, and to ensure a consistent and straightforward consumer experience for accessing and paying for use of the charging infrastructure UK-wide. Yours sincerely, Office for Low Emission Vehicles.
.........