The Government has announced an additional £2.5m in funding for the public on-street electric car charging infrastructure, claiming that the cash will see an extra 1,000 charging points installed in residential areas.
The money supports the Government’s on-street residential charging scheme, launched in 2017 and introduced to assist drivers of electric vehicles with no access to off-street parking for convenient charging.
The money is being handed over to local authorities, who will be responsible for the installation of the extra charge points. The scheme has already seen 16 local authorities prepare to install 1,200 new charge points in residential streets up and down the country, and it is hoped that these new points will be operational by the end of the year.
In total, the Government has announced up to £37 million in funding for the electric car charging infrastructure, the cash being spent on projects intended to overcome hurdles such as a lack of on-street charging for would-be electric car owners.
Commenting on the Department for Transport’s announcement to double funding for street electric car charging, Jack Cousens, head of roads policy for the AA said; “The success of the UK’s EV revolution hinges on access to charging infrastructure and many neighbourhoods so far feel disconnected. This announcement is therefore very welcome news but there is still a long way to go.
“One of the largest hurdles for prospective electric vehicle owners is charging at home when they do not have an allocated parking space.
“Considering there are more than 400 local authorities across the UK*, only 4% of them have installed on-street charging in residential areas.
“If we are going to meet the Road to Zero targets, councils and central Government will need to do more to help ease the transition for drivers and dispel their fears of not finding somewhere to charge.”
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