North Yorks Council adopts ambitious EV charging strategy

Plans have been announced by North Yorkshire Council to implement a new county-wide electric vehicle charging strategy.

Despite the challenges of large rural areas across the locality, the council believes a network of charging points will support the uptake of electric vehicles over the next 10 years – tackling climate change and new skills and investment into the local economy.

Members of the executive will meet on 2 May to consider the findings of a public consultation, which shape the electric vehicle charging infrastructure strategy. The council has secured £2.2m in funding from the national Local Electric Vehicle Infrastructure pilot scheme to install 70 charge points across the county so far.

The charging points will be installed alongside battery storage units, charged by solar panels. The technology will be “sympathetic to the rural landscape”, according to the council, and will allow for residential charge points in both on-street locations and larger charging hubs.

A further LEVI funding opportunity was announced in March 2023 with the council invited to bid for £4.88m – if successful, funding must be spent by 2025.

The strategy shows there are almost 4,000 electric vehicles registered in North Yorkshire and 225 publicly available charge points. It is predicted that 724 chargers will be needed by 2025, and 3,161 charge points by 2030. Half will need to be funded by the public sector at a cost of £10.3m.

Executive member for climate change, Cllr Greg White, said: “The roll-out of comprehensive electric vehicle charging infrastructure is key to achieving the county’s carbon zero target.

“The recent consultation asked the public about electric vehicle usage and gathered views on our proposals and further ideas. The findings will influence the delivery of electric vehicle charging infrastructure as we strive to give residents the confidence to consider electric as a credible choice.”

Executive member for highways and transport, Cllr Keane Duncan, said: “We have already made huge steps in the delivery of electric vehicle charging infrastructure thanks in part to the pilot LEVI funding – the highest amount secured by any local authority in the country.

“The rural nature of North Yorkshire means delivering charging points is more difficult, but we are ready to rise to the challenge to ensure our area does not fall behind.

“After extensive feedback from the public, we are looking to adopt an ambitious strategy. This will support North Yorkshire residents and businesses as more and more make the switch, and ensure we remain a destination of choice for visitors with electric vehicles.”

Image from Shutterstock

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