Northern Ireland’s Minister for Infrastructure, Liz Kimmins and The Deputy Mayor of Derry and Strabane, Alderman Niree McMorris have welcomed the appointment of a contractor to deliver over 250 EV charge points across nine local councils including Derry City and Strabane District Council, as part of the Office for Zero Emission Vehicles’ (OZEV) On Street Residential Charge Point Scheme (ORCS).

Local EV infrastructure company Weev will supply, connect and operate the charge points which will be located in a mix of on-street and council-owned car park locations, within residential areas that lack driveways or off-street parking.

ORCS is led by Derry City & Strabane District Council, as the Lead Council of the NI EV Consortium, which represents nine local councils, the Department for Infrastructure and the Northern Ireland Housing Executive. 

The ORCS project is an investment of over £2 million part funded by OZEV, the Department for Infrastructure and WEEV.

Welcoming the contractor announcement, Infrastructure Minister Liz Kimmins said: 

“I am delighted my Department has been able assist in the funding of over 250 charge points which will widen the electric vehicle charge point offering across nine local council areas for the public and local businesses. This shows my ongoing commitment for my Department to support, where possible, the expansion of EV charging facilities across the north, as the adoption of electric vehicles gathers pace as we move towards Net Zero.”

Deputy Mayor of Derry and Strabane, Alderman Niree McMorris said: 

“Improving access to charge points is another positive step in progressing the move towards sustainable, cleaner travel. It will make electric charging more accessible and convenient for users and encourage the switch to electric vehicles. Council has been taking an active role as lead of the consortium and along with our partner councils we will continue to lobby for more support for the improvement of local EV infrastructure.”

The chosen locations for the EV charge points are within residential areas in a range of towns and cities, and work is set to commence in the coming weeks.

Thomas O’Hagan, Weev CCO said: 

“We are delighted to be awarded the ORCS contract and play our part in growing Northern Ireland’s EV infrastructure. The growth of EV charger installations and EV car uptake is vital if we are going to reach the net zero targets set by the Government. Initiatives like ORCS, driven by local councils will have a huge role to play.”

(Picture: Infrastructure Minister Liz Kimmins MLA, Thomas O’Hagan CCO Weev, Deputy Mayor of Derry and Strabane Alderman Niree McMorris, Conor Canning, Head of Environment & Building Control, DCSDC)