Funding for thousands of EV charge points announced

The £56m will pay for 2,400 EV chargepoints to be installed across 16 English local authorities

Thousands of new electric vehicle (EV) charge points are to be installed across England, the The Department for Transport (DfT) has announced.

Some 2,400 new charging devices will be created in 16 council areas, including Oxfordshire, Norfolk and Cumbria.

The latest phase of the Local Electric Vehicle Infrastructure (LEVI) scheme is being funded with £56m public and industry investment.

The DfT said it would "energise" charge point roll-out plans.

The other councils to have secured funding for the scheme are Buckinghamshire, Hackney, Harborough, Hounslow, Lancashire, Rotherham, Sunderland, Waltham Forest, Warwickshire, West Midlands, West Sussex, West Yorkshire and York.

All 16 would also get support to work with private operators to install "tens of thousands more" charge points in the long term, the DfT added.

Transport minister Jesse Norman said: "The government is giving local authorities across England additional help today to energise their charge point roll-out plans.

"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."

Fewer than 9,000 public EV charging devices were installed in the UK last year, leading to claims that the infrastructure is not keeping up with demand.

Recent government figures revealed the number of new devices available for use increased by just 8,680 in the past year - increasing the total by 31%.

The DfT said the government had already spent more than £2bn to support the move to zero-emission vehicles.

The three original pilots in the LEVI scheme were in Durham, the London borough of Barnet and North Yorkshire.

Sales of new petrol and diesel cars and vans in the UK will be banned from 2030.