A new EV charging station in Hamilton has drawn the ire of its RSL club

The charger was built metres away from a veteran's monument in Beersheba Memorial Park, which club president Danny Bland said was disrespectful to their memory.

"The electric vehicles are not the issue, it is the place that (the Southern Grampians Shire) has chosen to put the charging station," he said.

Mr Bland, a member of the navy for 22 years, said the park was an important place to remember veterans who had passed.

"We still have several national servicemen in Hamilton itself, most of them are now in their 80s," he said.

"So for them to be able to have a moment with mates who have fallen, mates who are still here, that gives them a focal point to go to."

Mr Bland alleged the RSL had not been contacted prior to construction. He said he woke on Monday morning and heard the charging stations were already in place.

"I was checking the newspaper in bed on my laptop and next thing I know my phone starts ringing and I've got calls coming in left, right and centre," he said.

The former petty officer said the RSL had heard "absolutely nothing" about charging stations from the council since he became president in March 2022, and "there was no way" his predecessor would've approved the build.

"We can't approve it by ourselves anyway, it would've had to have gone through a full executive and there's no record of that in any of our minutes," he said.

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Mr Bland said there were "absolutely" better locations for a charging station in Hamilton.

"We have a tourist centre which is literally 300 metres down the road, why not put it there so people can actually go in and have a look around?" he said.

"It just makes no sense where they've put it, they're not even showcasing the best parts of Hamilton."

Southern Grampians Shire mayor David Robertson said the council had consulted businesses and there were no objections to the build.

"It is where a lot of tourists pull up and whether they plug their cars into an EV station or not, they're parking there anyway," he said.

"While they're charging their cars up they can still be looking at the war memorials and going to some of the shops that are close by."

Cr Robertson said he didn't think the location was disrespectful at all, stating "it's in a car park".

"Parking's a problem in most country towns and I think we have to have a compromise between some of these things," he said.

"It's probably the only place in Hamilton where there's ample space. It's unfortunate but it's hard to accommodate everything."

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