Welsh councils to receive hundreds of thousands in UK Government funding to improve availability of electric vehicle charge points
Nine local authorities to install plug-in facilities in car parks and residential areas
Nine local authorities across Wales are set to receive hundreds of thousands of pounds from the UK Government’s Office for Low Emission Vehicles (OLEV) to install electric vehicle charge points in car parks in residential areas.
Five councils in Gwent including Blaenau Gwent, Caerphilly, Monmouthshire, Newport and Torfaen will receive £458,724.50 this year to install 73 charge points with 146 individual sockets across the region.
Cardiff, Carmarthenshire, Powys and Swansea councils have also applied for thousands of pounds of funding, with the amounts set to be confirmed.
Evidence indicates that most plug-in vehicle owners will wish to do the largest proportion of their charging at home, but many areas in the UK have residential areas where off-street parking is not an option, presenting a barrier to plug-in vehicle adoption.
The funding aims to increase the availability of affordable and accessible charging options, which will be key to increasing the uptake of plug in vehicles in the UK.
Secretary of State for Transport Grant Shapps doubled the funding available through the on-street residential charge points scheme for 2019/20 by £2.5m.
Secretary of State for Wales Alun Cairns said:
The next few decades will be transformative for our transport industry and therefore it is vital that electric vehicle drivers feel confident about the availability of charge points near their homes and along their journeys.
Greater availability of charge points will also encourage a shift towards greener transport, bringing significant environmental benefits with it.
That is why the UK Government is committed to delivering this funding for local authorities across Wales, and I would encourage more councils to apply in order to create the necessary infrastructure to help us reach our net zero emissions target.
ENDS
Notes to editors:
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The Energy Saving Trust (EST) is administering this scheme on behalf of OLEV and can provide advice and guidance to Local Authorities on the preparation of an eligible and successful application
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The On-street Residential Chargepoint Scheme provides grant funding to local authorities looking to install chargepoints for residents that lack off-street parking. Since beginning in 2017, 51 local authorities have applied for funding. Between April 2017 and March 2019 24 local authorities received almost £1.4 million and delivered 700 chargepoints. The scheme has proved more popular and since April 2019 with 27 Local Authorities been awarded more than £3 million with plans to install over 1300 charge points.