Government announces £56m to help local authorities to plan for new chargepoint infrastructure

Wed 22 February 2023 View all news

The Government has announced a total of £56m in public and industry funding towards the installation of up to 2,400 chargepoints in the short-term, including support for local authorities to develop their capacity and capability to deliver many more chargepoints in future.

The funding will expand the current Local Electric Vehicle Infrastructure (LEVI) pilot, boost the existing On-Street Residential Chargepoint Scheme (ORCS) and help councils across England secure dedicated resource to develop in-house expertise and capability to coordinate chargepoint plans and work with private operators. The Government says that this will help to deliver a more comprehensive and reliable network of chargepoints for drivers.

In addition to the three current LEVI schemes in Barnet, Durham and North Yorkshire, a further 16 areas will benefit, including:

  • Buckinghamshire
  • Cumbria
  • Hackney
  • Harborough
  • Hounslow
  • Lancashire
  • Norfolk
  • Oxfordshire
  • Rotherham
  • Sunderland
  • Waltham Forest
  • Warwickshire
  • West Midlands
  • West Sussex
  • West Yorkshire
  • York

Technology and Decarbonisation Transport Minister, Jesse Norman said: "Today’s commitment will lead to thousands of new chargers being installed, and plans for tens of thousands extra in due course, so that more people than ever can make the transition to using EVs."

In total, £22 million of Government funding for the pilot areas is supported by an additional £17 million of private funding, and £2 million from public funds across local authorities.

In addition to expanding the pilot scheme, the Government also announced £8 million for the LEVI Capability Fund which aims to equip local authorities with the skills and ambition to scale up their plans when it comes to their charging strategy.

The announcement also saw the Government bring forward a further £7 million funding for the existing On-Street Residential Chargepoint Scheme, bringing the total funding this year to £37 million. Three thousand chargepoints have already been installed under ORCS with a further 10,000 in the pipeline.

Several additional funding schemes are already open and available to help install chargepoints for electric vehicles with government support, including the Workplace Charging Scheme, landlord grant and the private/rental grant.

 

Photo by Andrew Roberts on Unsplash

 

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