Brighton and Hove City Council has been awarded £300,000 grant in order to fund new electric vehicle charging points throughout the city. The council hope that this funding will encourage more people to switch to electronic vehicles, and so reduce emissions.
The grant, awarded by Office of Low Emission Vehicles, is intended to encourage Brighton and Hove residents to switch to more environmentally friendly modes of transport, which is part of the council’s wider initiative to improve the city’s air quality. The grant will be used to fund the installation of charging points across the city. These installations will be done as part of the ‘On-street Residential Chargepoint’ scheme, which aims to put charging points in areas of the city without off-street parking.
Councillor Gill Mitchell, who is Chair of the Environment, Transport and Sustainability Committee has said that the council is “delighted to have been successful in our bid for this funding” as well as adding that “in the last few years we have seen a significant improvement in the quality of the air that we breathe as a result of lower emission buses. We hope to improve this further by increasing the number of clean vehicles in the city.”
The council is partnered with a company called ‘ChargeYourCar’, who, according to their website, are the UK’s fastest growing pay-as-you-go recharging network for electronic vehicles. Those who own electric vehicles can pay to use the charging system, as well as request for new charging points to be added in areas with a high demand. There are currently over ten electric vehicle charging point in Brighton and Hove, and whilst the council has not yet confirmed how many new points will be installed as a result of the funding, it is clear that this will make charging points far more accessible.
This grant is clearly a fantastic step towards becoming a greener and more environmentally friendly city.
