New electric vehicle charging points in Sidmouth town centre

Four electric car charging points have been installed at Sidmouth’s Woodlands Hotel.

Electric car charging point at The Woodlands Hotel. Picture: Dan Cozens - Credit: Archant

The chargers are mainly for hotel guests, but owner Dan Cozens said members of the public are welcome to use them if they visit the hotel for a coffee or a snack while charging.

The four 7kw 32-amp charging points are outside the hotel in Station Road, and Mr Cozens said he thought they might be useful for people visiting Sidmouth with electric vehicles, or residents who needed a quick top-up while out shopping in the town.

On the subject of reopening after lockdown, he said trade had got off to a slow start, but is now picking up.

“The first week was very quiet, people are cautious, but we had a surge of bookings last week and it certainly looks to be an improvement in the number of people looking to come away in August and September,” he said.

One of the car charging points. Picture: Dan Cozens - Credit: Archant

But he added that Covid-secure measures have led to a doubling of cleaning costs, with rooms now taking twice as long to clean, and extra hygiene precautions necessary in communal areas of the hotel.