Councils continue charging infrastructure roll-out

County Durham, Norfolk County Council, Vale of White Horse District Council and Lancashire County Council are among the local authorities continuing to roll-out new electric vehicle charge points.

Durham

Durham County Council are set to install 150 EV charging points across the region after securing £3.1 million in funding from the government.

Speaking on the investment, Cllr Mark Wilkes, Cabinet member for neighbourhoods and climate change, said: “It is fantastic to see our innovative pilot scheme being recognised nationally.

“The additional funding, which will create a further 150 charging points across County Durham, will help to improve access to electric vehicles and charging points.

“We are committed to making sure as many residents as possible can access electric charging and make more sustainable transport choices.

“This is part of our wider plan to reduce carbon emissions and make the county one of the greenest places to live, work and visit in the UK.”

Norfolk County Council

Norfolk County Council has announced EB Charging has won the contract to install on street charging points in Norwich.

The contract is to install, supply and operate 46 new charge points on 40 streets with charge points available to all members of the public.

Councillor Graham Plant, cabinet member for highways, infrastructure and transport, said; “We know from research that a lack of charging points is one of the top barriers to people making the transition to electric vehicle, and we hope that this programme will support more people in the Norwich area to make the change to electric.”

Lancashire

Lancashire County Council has been awarded a government grant of £600,000 to install new electric vehicle charge points.

The funding will be used to trial solutions for those without off-street parking, including testing of charge points integrated into streetlighting and pavement cable channels to allow for at home charging. The results of the trials will inform the county’s EV charging plans.

The local authority will work closely with district councils to identify suitable locations for the pilot schemes in the next few months.

Lancashire County Councillor Shaun Turner, cabinet member for environment and climate change, said: “We welcome the announcement of vital funding for the provision of Electric Vehicle charge points in Lancashire.”

Vale of White Horse District Council

Installations of charge points by Vale of White Horse District Council in its car parks has seen charging volumes double in its first six months, the local authority has announced.

The news follows the installation of 62 EV chargers across five of the council’s car parks as part of the county-wide Park and Charge scheme undertaken by the local authority.

The number of charging sessions has gone up by 60% in the first six months – and during the same period the average amount of electricity consumed has doubled, meaning people are now using them for longer charges.

Since the first chargers went live in summer 2022 there have been 3,631 charging sessions in the first full six months, which equates to around 169,000 EV miles. This represents a saving 45,863kg of CO2e, if those miles had been driven in a petrol or diesel car.

Image from Shutterstock

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