County gets £4.6m for electric vehicle charging

Staffordshire County Council believes it needs to install thousands of charging points over the next four years

Staffordshire County Council has said it is developing an electric vehicle charging network with four other authorities in the Midlands.

The council has been given £4.6m of funding by the Department for Transport to increase the number of local charging points in the area.

The council said it would use the funding to attract private investment, however, rather than direct ownership of the network.

Charging points would be installed between now and 2028, it said.

Staffordshire County Council is working with Nottinghamshire County Council, Nottingham City Council, Derbyshire County Council and Derby City Council.

The partnership will be co-ordinated by transport body Midlands Connect.

Last year, Staffordshire County Council approved a strategy for meeting the needs of communities and businesses as the number of electric vehicles increased.

The authority estimates that 97% of homes without off-street parking in Staffordshire are not within a convenient walking distance of a public charging point.

This equates to about 92,000 properties, according to the council.

Staffordshire currently has 428 electric vehicle charging points, but the council believes the county will need more than 5,000 by 2030.

'Vital'

Cabinet member for highways and transport David Williams said it was not the county council’s responsibility to install or operate the charging points, but by working with partner local authorities, it would be in a position to attract commercial providers to do this.

“We understand that electricity may not be the only type of alternative power for vehicles in future years, but it’s vital that we have our local electric vehicle infrastructure in place as soon as possible,” he said.

Maria Machancoses, CEO of Midlands Connect, said she wanted the Midlands to lead the way in electric vehicle infrastructure.