newy.com.au – Charging cables have been stolen from two City of Newcastle fast electric vehicle chargers, while vandals have damaged sporting facilities at Hamilton North and Lambton in a series of incidents affecting community infrastructure.
City of Newcastle said it was “extremely disappointed” by the theft and vandalism, which has temporarily taken EV chargers out of service at Cleary Street, Hamilton, and the No. 2 Sportsground car park in Newcastle West.
Replacement cables have been ordered and council staff are working to restore the chargers as soon as possible. The council said the loss of income from the chargers would add pressure to its budget while staff were already reviewing expenditure to support the decision to reduce pool entry to $2.
Sporting facilities have also been targeted. At Smith Park in Hamilton North, recent vandalism disrupted local clubs and volunteers who help run community sport at the venue. Repair work is underway and is expected to be completed on Tuesday afternoon, with no ongoing impact to user groups.
Kentish Oval at Lambton was vandalised earlier this month, but council staff inspected and repaired the damage quickly, avoiding any impact on scheduled sporting fixtures or training.
City of Newcastle said it acknowledged the inconvenience and frustration caused to residents, volunteers and facility users. It said it was continuing to look at ways to reduce the risk of future incidents across its community facilities, but noted the scale of the challenge across more than 150 sports fields, 250 parks and a large network of public infrastructure.
“However, with more than 150 sports fields, 250 parks and a large network of public infrastructure across the local government area, it is not realistic to prevent every act of theft or vandalism,” the council said.
The EV charger thefts have been reported to NSW Police. City of Newcastle said several other privately owned and council-owned EV sites had also been targeted by thieves in surrounding local government areas.
Anyone with information about the incidents, or other damage to community infrastructure, is urged to contact NSW Police or Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000.
