New charge points for Reading
New electric charging points have been installed by Reading Borough Council as it accelerates its network.
The new charging points are now in place and operational at two car parks with a third charging point installed at another car park in west Reading over the coming weeks.
The new charging points are being installed as part of the second phase of Reading Borough Council’s ‘Go Electric’ programme, which is increasing the amount of charging points around town, particularly for local residents who do not have off-street parking available.
The new 22kW charging points at the car parks have space for two cars to charge at the same time. Parking in the assigned bays is free of charge for people parked and actively charging at the charge points. The charging points cost 50p to connect and 30p/kWh to use thereafter.
In 2019, the council installed a total of 15 charging points on residential streets across Reading as part of its Go Electric project. The locations were selected following a public consultation where Reading residents who either owned an electric vehicle, or had an interest in buying one in the future, were asked to register their interest in having an electric charging point on their street.
Reading has a higher than average percentage of its households living in terraced properties with a high proportion having no access to off-street parking, which makes charging an electric vehicle overnight very difficult. The Council successfully bid for Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs’ Air Quality Grant of £100,000 to pay for the installation of electric vehicle charging points on residential streets where there is no off street parking.
Speaking about the installations, Tony Page, Reading Borough Council’s lead councillor for strategic environment, planning and transport: “More people are choosing to go electric in the interests of improving air quality, health and their impact on the environment. That can be difficult, particularly in a town like Reading where a third of residents live on terraced streets with no off-street parking. This is why the installation of new charging points in local car parks is important, alongside on street charging points where that is feasible.
“The Council’s new Local Transport Strategy to 2036, which will be finalised early next year, references electric vehicles as an important component of our drive towards cutting air pollution in Reading, alongside a number of major sustainable transport schemes. The challenge facing both Government and local authorities everywhere is supplying the necessary charging infrastructure to support a real shift to electric vehicles. There remains a long way to go, but as the technology develops we hope that is something that can be realistically achieved in future years.”
