Dorset's tourism drives move for 150 new EV charge points

Dorset Council hopes the 150 new EV charging points will be in place by the start of the new tourism season

Tourism was a key reason Dorset was selected for a pilot scheme to improve the network of electric vehicle (EV) charging points, a council said.

The county is one of nine local authorities chosen to take part in a £20m project to install more than 1,000 new charging locations around England.

The network will include faster on-street chargers and petrol station-style hubs.

It will see 150 new charging points in the Dorset Council area.

Councillor Ray Bryan, portfolio holder for highways, travel and environment, said there were already 100 of them within the council area.

The new ones will be in commercial and residential zones, and on land owned by town and parish councils, he added.

'A lot of tourists'

The council has been handed £2.7m of public and private money to install the infrastructure over the next 12 months and Mr Bryan said he hoped they would be in place in time for next year's tourism season.

"We get a lot of tourists here and I've set a target for Dorset to be the number one county for connectivity by 2025", he said.

Tourism contributed £1.8bn to the regional economy in 2021, according to council figures.

The new EV charge points will be in commercial and residential areas and on council-owned land

Without naming any firms, Mr Bryan said he was in discussion with "a number of very high profile companies to get very good EV coverage in a short time".

'Excellent track record'

He also paid tribute to the £19m the council had previously received from government through a separate scheme to reduce carbon emissions.

"Dorset pulls above its weight at the moment, so we're able to deliver for our residents," Mr Bryan said.

"We have an excellent track record in terms of delivering value for money - delivery is key."

The latest Local EV Infrastructure pilot, which is part of a wider £450m project, supports the government's drive to encourage more motorists to go electric as the country moves towards net zero emissions, the Department for Transport (DfT) said.

It added the funding would enable more people to drive and charge "without fear of being caught short, no matter where they are".

The government hopes there will be 300,000 charging points in the UK by 2030, but critics said the roll-out was not going fast enough to meet increasing demand.