Brighton & Hove has been named as the local authority with the best on-street charging coverage (outside of London) in the UK.
According to an independent report from Field Dynamics and ZapMap, 83.1% of residents with no off-street parking now live within a 5-minute walk of a public charge point.
That’s a 6% increase on last year and significantly ahead of the next best local authorities of Coventry (75.7%), Portsmouth (57.5%) and East Lothian (54.2%)
The news comes as even more EV charge points are being installed across the city.
20 new lamppost charge points have been fitted in the last two weeks with 80 more scheduled to be in place by the end of the month.
The council has also be adding more charge points to the network in the coming months, providing charging for 51 vehicles in dedicated EV bays at 16 sites. It’ll take the total number of charge points in the city close to 500, supporting over 3000 electric and hybrid cars now registered in Brighton & Hove.
The new charge points are being funded thanks to a central government grant of over £440,000 from OZEV (Office for Zero Emission Vehicles). This grant will cover 60% of the total cost, with EV charging operator Blink Charging covering the remaining 40%.
Earlier this year, the council was awarded £2.865 million from the government’s Local EV Infrastructure (LEVI) fund which will support the installation of at least 1,650 new charge points over the next three years.
The council will be procuring new lamppost, fast and rapid charge point operators in addition to the current network. It will also work with local stakeholders and communities to find the best sites for these and hope to begin installation next year.
Councillor Trevor Muten, cabinet member for Transport, Parking and Public Realm said: “This really is great news. To be named number one in this report is a fantastic achievement and a credit to the hard work being done to grow our electric vehicle infrastructure.
“The number of residents and businesses making the switch to electric vehicles is rising so it’s vital we continue to invest or risk falling behind.
“More charge points means buying an electric vehicle becomes a viable option for people when the time comes to purchase a new car. If they can make the switch away from petrol and diesel, it will help improve air quality and achieve our Net Zero goals.”
PIC-BRIGHTON & HOVE COUNCIL
