Formula E has scheduled the final round of the inaugural championship to end in London’s Battersea Park in June 2015, but the event hasn’t yet been awarded planning permission nor has it been signed off by the local council.
A preliminary vote by The Borough of Wandsworth’s Community Services Overview and Scrutiny Committee is due to take place next week, before a final vote at the end of October.
After that, it will be required to go before the council’s executive where if signed off, planning permission will be applied for which could take an additional two months.
The process has however been factored into Formula E’s schedule and was expected. A back-up plan is also being considered which could see the race relocated to East London’s ExCel centre.
Environmental spokesman councillor Jonathan Cook stressed that several conditions must be met before approval is granted.
“What we are quite clear about is that we could not support a proposal that would cause harm or damage to the fabric of the park and its important historical and heritage features, cause unnecessary or unreasonable disturbance to residents living nearby or involve excessive disruption to people’s normal enjoyment of the park,” he explained.
However a test run completed by Lucas di Grassi in August didn’t register a single complaint from local residents as the benefit of electric cars is that they’re virtually silent.
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