Government announces £20m additional funding to support on-street charging

Thu 11 February 2021 View all news

The Government has announced £20m further funding for the On-Street Residential Chargepoint Scheme (ORCS) which enables UK local authorities and others to boost access to recharging facilities for people unable to charge at home. The ORCS scheme has been running since 2017 and more than 140 projects have benefitted through it.

The Department for Transport says that this funding boost could double the number of available chargepoints, helping to tackle poor air quality and supporting economic growth.

Nick Harvey, senior programme manager at Energy Saving Trust which administers the scheme, said:  "The confirmation of £20 million of funding for the ORCS in 2021/22 is great news. This funding will allow local authorities to install convenient and cost-effective electric vehicle charging infrastructure for those who rely on on-street parking. This helps to support the fair transition to the increased adoption of low carbon transport.

"We’re therefore encouraging local authorities to access this funding as part of their plans to decarbonise transport and improve local air quality."

Meanwhile, the Government has also announced 23 winners of a share of £6m funding for pioneering technology and projects that prioritise safer, greener travel.

Now in its seventh year, the transport-technology research and innovation grant (T-TRIG) programme, in partnership with Connected Places Catapult, enables the country’s brightest entrepreneurs and researchers to develop cutting-edge tech to make UK transport systems safer, more sustainable and accessible.

The Government says that a number of this year’s winners focus on ways that we can respond to and recover from the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. Among the ideas is a project that would see local communities signing up to an app where those making deliveries would upload their journey plans for the day. This would then be matched to local people who are expecting deliveries, helping reduce CO2 emissions on our roads by cutting lengthy detours.

Transport Minister Rachel Maclean said: "I’m delighted to see government investment bringing together talented start-ups and policy-makers at the earliest stages of innovation, and giving a boost to the technology, which could make travelling safer on our road to a green transport recovery.

"This funding will make the UK one of the most attractive places for SMEs and university thinkers to do what they do best, as we look to build back better, while also solving the complex challenge of decarbonising transport."

Related News: The Government has announced a consultation on improving the consumer experience at public chargegpoints. The Office for Zero Emission Vehicles (OZEV) is seeking views on ways to improve the consumer experience for electric vehicle drivers at public chargepoints. OZEV wants to introduce regulations that improve the consumer experience in the following 4 areas:

  • making it easier to pay
  • opening up chargepoint data
  • using a single payment metric
  • ensuring a reliable network

To find out more and to respond to the consultation, visit this link.

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