Energy

Suffolk rolls out fast charging points

Plans to spend £300,000 on a network of 100 fast charging points for electric vehicles has been set out by Suffolk County Council.
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James Evison

Plans to spend £300,000 on a network of 100 fast charging points for electric vehicles has been set out by Suffolk County Council.

The move will see the local authority working with parish and town councils – as well as non-profit organisations – on building a number of fast charging points.

Funding will cover the installation and set-up costs to reduce upfront cost for the councils and also potentially create a source of income.

The council have had expressions of interest for charging points from around 20 suitable sites. In the coming weeks, officers from Suffolk County Council will be contacting town and parish councils to investigate more possible locations.

The announcement is the first from the £3m Suffolk 2020 Fund with council-run schemes using the cash and linking with the Plug In Suffolk project, launched in February 2019. The programme claims to be the UK’s first ‘fully open’ public fast charging network with drivers paying by contactless payment without registration.

Councillor Richard Rout, Cabinet Member for Environment and Public Protection at Suffolk County Council, said: “Ultra-low emission vehicle ownership has nearly trebled in the last three years in Suffolk and I want to this to continue by making it even more convenient to charge up across the county. I’d like to see fast charging points at our rural village halls, community buildings, sports clubs, places of worship and in small villages. We can now make this a reality and hopefully provide the host with a source of income too.

“If you look at a map of existing charging points in the county, there are big gaps – and one of the barriers to people switching to an electric vehicle is lack of confidence about finding a place to charge. This funding will help fill those gaps and give people that confidence. Once these charging points are installed, Suffolk will have one of the best rural charging networks in the country.”

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