| The number of public electric vehicle (EV) charging points in Brighton & Hove is set to dramatically increase, thanks to a successful funding bid.
A £2.8 million government grant will allow 500 EV charging points to be installed every year for the next 3 years. New contracts, to be awarded in 2025, will also offer more choice and flexible tariffs, including off-peak rates and access to more than 2,000 charging points. The news comes on the day the National Audit Office publishes its report on the national rollout of EV infrastructure. Councillor Trevor Muten, Cabinet member for Transport, Parking and Public Realm, said: “The dramatic increase in the number of public locations will help give residents confidence they can use a charging point close to where they live. “Scaling up also offers new opportunities to introduce flexible and off-peak tariffs to make it cost effective for residents to charge their electric vehicles in the city. “Providing clean, affordable and low carbon energy for transport is essential to achieve net zero in the city. We’re using the evidence presented in our energy study to increase the pace and provide the right infrastructure.” Over the last five years, the council has used grants to target areas where residents have no off-street access to charge their vehicle. From the new year the city will have just over 500 on-street charge points. On-street charging infrastructure in the city already has the best coverage outside of London and 83% of residents with no off-street parking live within a 5-minute walk of a public charging point. Recently the council installed 100 new lamp column charging points and a further 12 sites are now being prepared to accommodate 37 new dedicated EV charging bays. |
