East Midlands to get multi-million EV charge funding

East Midlands authorities will receive a share of £40.8m from the Local EV Infrastructure (LEVI) Fund

More than £40m in funding has been distributed between 13 Midlands councils to install thousands of electric vehicle charging points.

Councils in Derbyshire, Nottinghamshire, Leicestershire and Rutland are among those to receive a slice of the government cash to create more charging points in areas with limited off-street parking.

Drivers across the wider Midlands region will be able to charge their vehicles from more than 16,000 new charging points after the cash injection from the Local Electric Vehicle Infrastructure (LEVI) Fund.

Midlands Connect, which works to improve transport infrastructure across the region, said the funding came on top of £2.3bn to help people make a switch to electric vehicles before the 2035 ban on buying new diesel and petrol vehicles.

Other councils to receive funding include: Lincolnshire County Council, Herefordshire Council, Staffordshire County Council, Stoke-on-Trent City Council, Telford and Wrekin Council, Worcestershire County Council and Warwickshire County Council.

How much funding does each council get?

A partnership of eight local authorities across the Midlands region, led by Lincolnshire County Council and Worcestershire County Council, successfully bid for £20.64m of funding.

These two consortiums are the last to be approved for funding after five other local authority partners, being led by Nottinghamshire County Council, secured £20.17m, therefore totalling £40.8m of funding for the partnership overall.

Derbyshire secured the most funding in the East Midlands, with Derby City Council receiving £1.76m of funding and Derbyshire County Council with £6.6m.

Nottinghamshire got the second most amount of funding, with Nottingham City Council receiving £1.7m and Nottinghamshire County Council with £5.5m.

Leicestershire County Council received £3.2m and Rutland County Council received £257,000.

Midlands Connect said almost 31% of Midlands residents did not have access to off-street parking.

It said the increase of electric vehicle charging points would make it easier for those without a driveway to make the switch to an electric vehicle.

Two of the Midlands Consortium's tenders are out now with the final consortium to go to procurement in spring 2025, with a five-year delivery aim to install these across the partnership area.

Future of Roads Minister Lilian Greenwood said the funding would make electric vehicle driving "cheaper and easier"

Future of Roads Minister Lilian Greenwood, who visited Snibston Colliery Park in Leicestershire ahead of the announcement, said there were already 10,000 EV charge points across the Midlands.

"Making charging as seamless and as easy as possible is crucial to making the switch to electric a success, and rolling out over 16,000 chargers across the Midlands will make driving an electric vehicle cheaper and easier, especially for those without a driveway," she said.

"Electric vehicles will power growth, cut emissions and improve lives in the Midlands and beyond, as we continue to deliver our Plan for Change."

Maria Machancoses, chief executive of Midlands Connect, said: "This is a great step in moving towards a reliable electric vehicle charging infrastructure network across the Midlands, which will become increasingly important as we move closer to the 2035 ban of diesel and petrol vehicles.

"We will continue to work with local authorities to accelerate the roll-out of electric vehicle infrastructure across the Midlands."