County set for more charging points after funding boost
A multi-million-pound fund has been allocated to Staffordshire to support the delivery of an electric vehicle charging network in the county.
Staffordshire County Council is one of 13 local authorities, together with regional transport body Midlands Connect, to successfully bid for a total of £39.3 million from the Local Electric Vehicle Infrastructure scheme.
The £5 million fund aims to help local councils scale up the delivery of local charge points, allowing more residents, especially those without off street parking, to switch to EVs. Charge points will be installed between 2024 and 2028.
Early this year, the county council approved Staffordshire’s public electric vehicle charging strategy that sets out plans on how the authority will meet the needs of communities and businesses as electric vehicle use continues to increase.
The county council is working closely with district and borough councils across the county, private providers and the energy sector.
With sales of new petrol and diesel engine cars restricted from 2030 and new hybrid vehicles by 2035, councils across the country have been asked by central government to support the transition through strategies to boost availability of charging points.
This will include public and private car parks, on-street charging, rapid speed charging hubs, fuelling forecourts and residential properties.
Currently, approximately 97 per cent of homes without off-street parking in Staffordshire are not within a convenient walk of a public charging point, which is around 92,000 properties.
As of April, there are 336 public charging devices in Staffordshire, and the strategy sets out to grow this to 3,000 over the next seven years.
Staffordshire County Council’s cabinet member for highways and transport David Williams said: “It’s great news that our funding allocation to support the implementation of Staffordshire’s electric vehicle charging network has now been confirmed.
“The UK is already embarking on the transition towards electric vehicle use which is good news in terms of our combined efforts to reduce carbon emissions and improve air quality.
“Our partnership strategy has identified where the most appropriate places for charging points could be and how we will work with the private sector to facilitate successful delivery. We will work with businesses to encourage workplace charging and residents to support off-street charging, in addition to people and organisations making planning applications.
“We understand that electricity may not be the only type of alternative power for vehicles in future years, but it’s vital that we have our local electric vehicle infrastructure in place as soon as possible.”