Thousands more people across the North East will soon benefit from 40 new fast electric vehicle charging points, as part of a major regional rollout to make transport greener, more accessible, and future-ready.
The new charging spaces, capable of delivering speeds of up to 150kW, will be installed at 18 key destinations across Newcastle, North Tyneside, Gateshead, and Sunderland, including town centre car parks, coastal sites, country parks, and leisure centres.
This initiative, delivered through a partnership between the North East Combined Authority and Zest, is a vital step towards tackling charging inequality and supporting the region’s ambition to lead the UK in sustainable transport.
North East Mayor Kim McGuinness said:
“I have an electric car so I know first-hand how important it is to have reliable charging in the right places. I’ve been told time and time again that communities want more charging points and now I’m making that happen.
“We’ve chosen some of our fantastic tourist spots to invest in as we don’t want visitors to our region to be caught short either. The North East will have the greenest transport in the country and this is a vital step towards that.”
The rollout is backed by funding from the Levelling Up Fund, the On-Street Residential Chargepoint Scheme (ORCS) in North Tyneside, and private investment. It marks the beginning of a wider, long-term programme to expand the North East’s EV infrastructure and support the government’s NHS 10-Year Plan for neighbourhood-based services and greener travel.
Image credit: iStock
