The Department for Transport has announced that there is to be a major boost to the number of electric vehicle charge points, as part of a pilot to improve availability.
Nine local authorities across England are to be part of a pilot backed by government funding that will see over a thousand new chargepoints being installed. £20 million worth of investment will be allocated to the winners of the pilot fund, which are:
- Barnet
- Dorset
- Durham
- Kent
- Midlands Connect (Lincolnshire as lead authority)
- North Yorkshire
- Nottinghamshire
- Suffolk
- Warrington
Trudy Harrison, Decarbonisation Minister, said:
“We want to expand and grow our world-leading network of EV chargepoints, working closely with industry and local government, making it even easier for those without driveways to charge their electric vehicles and support the switch to cleaner travel.
“This scheme will help to level up electric vehicle infrastructure across the country, so that everyone can benefit from healthier neighbourhoods and cleaner air.”
Residents without driveways will benefit from the pilot scheme, thanks to increased access to EV chargers, whilst the national push to achieve net zero will also be furthered. The uptake of zero emission vehicles is crucial to achieving this goal and if uptake is to increase, the confidence in electric vehicle infrastructure needs to be there.
The funding for the pilot will come through £10 million from the government, with private companies putting in £9 million. A further £1.9 million will be provided from public funds across local authorities. The participating local authorities will also be able to provide feedback on how the infrastructure be improved, as well as how private companies can get involved.
