The boom in electric bikes and scooters poses a fire risk to thousands of people in blocks of flats across Brighton and Hove, according to a tenant rep.
Emma Salcombe, of Essex Place, Brighton, asked councillors whether, with the increasing number of fires, they planned to ban e-bikes and e-scooters from council blocks.
Her question followed a fire last month which started in a fourth-floor flat in Theobald House, in Blackman Street, Brighton.
The blaze is believed to have been caused by an e-scooter lithium battery.
A fire last October at Richard Allen Court, in Brighton, a block of flats run by BHT Sussex, was also believed to have been caused by a lithium battery, in that case one that was used to power an e-bike.
Ms Salcombe told councillors: “Those of us who are disabled have to get permission from the council to store our Motability scooters but those with e-bikes and e-scooters can just take them into the home.
“Those who are responsible make sure that when they’re charged properly, they’re disconnected.
“We do have a growing population who do not care about fire safety rules. That also means, as our landlord, you’re responsible for making sure the tenants know these rules and regulations – and you’re not doing that.”
Ms Salcombe spoke out at a meeting of Brighton and Hove City Council’s Housing and New Homes Committee at Hove Town Hall last Wednesday (13 March).
Labour councillor Gill Williams, who chairs the committee, said that she had been involved with discussions about potentially introducing new rules after two fires linked to e-scooters in council buildings.
Councillor Williams said: “There’s no legislation at the moment that prohibits the ownership of these scooters.
“But we do urge our residents in our council blocks to follow the safety guidance particularly in relation to any electrical item. This is included in the council’s fire safety web pages.
“You’re right to raise this because e-scooters are a particular issue. I notice they are now banned on the railways. You can’t take them on trains. And they are banned in other places.
“I’d be happy to set up a working group and see what the council can do about it.”
Councillor Williams said that she would consult with the council’s legal department to see what could be done.
got to be a right mong to ride one of those
I ride one and it costs me roughly £1 a week in electric bills to commute to work and back, at a push £100 a year in maintenance,
Yep I must be a mong…
you just admitted to being a mong lmao what a mong
Agreed the rough cost for my escooter works out about £1.50 a day 2 and from work. I don’t ride it on the pavements and am respectful to other road users. I don’t leave it charging up over night either, (just like you shouldn’t for ANY lithium device battery). Legislation on escooters is 2 years late and we have the bizarre situation where you can rent one but not own one. As to ebikes they are totally legal so how could you ban them in flats? If you are going to ban ebikes and escooters then you may as well ban mobile phones which cause numerous fires while chatging.
Electric scooters are considered perfectly safe to use in every single country in the world except the UK due to the 1988 transport act which was put in place to legalise the use of the Sinclair C5.
The UK is the only country you can’t take them in the train, can’t use them on the road unless you rent it… Can’t ride an ebike if it has a manual throttle. Completely outdated nonsense basically.
I read a month ago that a man burned down his flat by using the wrong charger on this mobile phone, so are we proposing we ban them from council flats as well?
Electric cars are currently having issues where the brakes don’t exist when your on the motorway. Let’s ban them shall we.
Electric heaters and tumble dryers case a ton of fires, let’s ban them.
Grenfell was started with a ciggy on the balcony, again let’s ban them also.
See where I’m going with this, everything has a risk and e scooters are no more Risky than most other products on the market. There is 1 million in the UK, if they were just spontaneously combusting in any real quantities you’d know about it.
The main problem is lack of regulation. Any e vehicle be it scooter, bike, moped, car should have a yearly check. But ironically in the UK we have no regulation because the government are to lazy to deal with it. It was in the Queens speech 2 years ago and dropped because Liz truss came on the scene.
The reason people use e scooters is really simple.
Cheap to use, cheap to maintain, faster than public transport, no parking tickets and the icing on the cake is they are a dam sight better for the environment than every other mode of transport.
I am inclined to agree but think that helmets and insurance should be mandatory as well as the police actively enforcing them off the pavements
I couldn’t agree more. And that’s the problem with the lack of regulation. People get this mad idea in their head that it’s safer on the pavement when actually it should be on the road with a helmet, and lights on, when it’s dark (same for cycles)
Scooters are banned in lots of places. They tend to be banned where lots of people start using them.
They were banned in San Francisco because hospital emergency depts couldn’t cope
We copied e-bicycle regs from the EU which says you can only have a throttle to walking speed
We have regs but Sussex police don’t enforce them. Once a little old lady is run over by an illegal e-bike going at 30 mph or there is fatal fire due to cheap conversion kit then maybe they will
Except Jon they are NOT banned in San Fransisco. In the majority of Asia, Europe and the U.S. e scooters are perfectly legal and properly regulated. That is what was promised here over 2 years ago but still nothing. How can it be legal to rent a scooter in some areas but not ride a private one?
Well said Simon. So easy to demonise escooter riders, (and yes there are some idiots out there but no more so than cyclists or car drivers). Legislation has been constantly delayed which has led to the bizarre situation where you can rent but not own one.
The biggest problem with e scooters and e bikes is, that some people who use them are inconsiderate idiots. Helmets and insurance should be compulsory. A friend, while walking on the pavement, was knocked over by an idiot on an electric bicycle and broke her arm. What did the cyclist do, rode off without a word.
My travel mobility scooter has lithium batteries. I just flew home from lndia with it. I had no issue at the airport. My disabled friend who needs his mobility scooter for shopping etc has been told he is no longer allowed to keep it in his flat because of the lithium batteries. He is now housebound. I have still to read examples of lithium batteries causing fires. But l do see continuous examples where people’s personal freedoms are being curtailed by overzealous bigots.
“since 2020 linthium-ion batteries have caused more than 13 deaths in the UK, hundreds of injuries and millions in property damage”
https://labourlist.org/2024/03/lithium-battery-fire-mps-vote-bill-law-electric-bikes-e-scooters/#:~:text=Since%202020%2C%20lithium%2Dion%20battery,needs%20to%20be%20urgently%20addressed.
Not Green regarding battery, life span and recyclability and not safe either. In fact people have died in fires while these things were charging in their homes overnight. Furthermore they are a menace on the streets and pavements and have caused many injuries to users and pedestrians alike. Time to ban them.
The problem isnt exactly ebikes or escooters, it’s the fact that there isn’t a ban on cheap, unsafe imported kits/bikes/scooters from AliExpress & eBay that you usually see. These have zero regulation and usually breach the UK’s laws on ebike power limits and speeds.
Regulated ebike components from trusted companies like Bosch, Yamaha and Shimano cost the price they do because certification is required to make sure the ebike systems are safe. These fires are caused by the cheap, illegal ebikes and escooters you usually see delivery drivers riding around on.
The type who also ride around without lights at night, ride on pavements and seem to not have the legal right to work in the country…
We have known this for years, and yet Planners insist still that all new house have bike storage space within homes, with no requirement for fire-resistant storage. They insist that bicycle storage is included in all new domestic schemes at what will be the main route of escape.
However, it is nothing new that council droids are incapable of rational or joined-up thought processes.
How about the council set up a rental scheme the same as ebikes, then people wouldn’t need to buy them and charge them indoors.
Interesting you should say this because the original Beryl tender/ consultation had e scooter rental as a big part of it, (especially because of Brighton’s hilly nature). At some stage either the Green Administration or officers pulled the plug on the idea. As LRM has stated before we could have been one of the initial trial rental areas for e scooters but the Green Administration didn’t want it.
The Greens were worried that rental eScooters would take away revenue from Brighton BikeShare and pro-cycling groups thought they didn’t encourage active travel.
But we now have Beryl Bikes that few can afford to used, private eScooters for less than the price of an annual bus ticket.
And of course, throttle controlled eBikes used by food delivery riders, some of which look like motor bikes, being used on pavements, cycle lanes, and proper roads illegally and without insurance.
As usual, most people on here don’t let facts get in the way of their opinions. Maybe a read of the full DfT rules & regulations on escooters might help (including the timeline) https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/e-scooter-trials-guidance-for-local-areas-and-rental-operators/e-scooter-trials-guidance-for-local-areas-and-rental-operators
It’s a good read – especially the need for eScooter riders to have insurance and a driving license and be limited to 15mph.