Cheshire West and Chester Council secures £2 million Electric Vehicle Charging Grant

Cheshire West and Chester Council has secured £2,049,000 Local Electric Vehicle Infrastructure funding.

The fund is managed by the Office of Zero Emission Vehicles (OZEV), with a Support Body consisting of the Energy Savings Trust (EST), PA consulting and Cenex.

The funding will help to support EV charging solutions for people who are unable to charge at home (off street). The Council will now start an Invitation to Tender procurement process, to identify private investment from Charge Point Operators, to invest to deliver a commercial return over time. The public-private partnership will then deliver a comprehensive volume and type of chargers, meeting resident needs.

The majority of EV charging takes place at home, but this can be a challenge for residents without access to off-street parking.  The Council aims to ensure residents will have easy access to EV charging, within a short walking distance through a range of car parks and on-street.

Council-owned car parks will be the first choice of where to site chargers. These car parks are often located in central areas. The plan will be to supply a quantity of chargers into these locations. As the demand for chargers increases the availability can be increased. Where car parks are further away than just a short walk, on-street chargers will be considered.

In addition to this, other locations that suit people’s normal routine and may support more sustainable travel will be considered. The Council will work with partners to install chargers into park and ride sites, leisure centre car parks and into railway station car parks, alongside council car parks.

The new funding is expected to enable an initial installation of around 600 chargers, with approximately 300 in car parks and 300 on-street locations across the borough. The initial installation phase will start in late 2024 and is expected to take around five years.

The first stage will be engagement with possible Charge Point Operators taking place between April and June. Site feasibility studies will take place during the Summer 2024 with the first new charging points being installed Autumn 2024.

A six-week public consultation took place between 1 February and 15 March 2023. Responses showed a high degree of support from those who already drive electric vehicles and those who do not.

There were over 200 responses to the consultation 70 per cent of respondents said they agreed with the aims of the Electric Vehicle Charging Infrastructure Strategy. Most respondents (53.9 per cent) considered that the Electric Vehicle Charging Infrastructure will have a positive impact upon them.

The Council has developed a draft Electric Vehicle Charging Infrastructure Strategy (EVCI) in response to the Climate Emergency declaration and Air Quality Management Plan.

The EVCI Strategy covers the Council’s approach to supporting the delivery of charging infrastructure for electric vehicles, including for public use, for Council fleet and at Council workplaces.

The Strategy sets out several ambitious targets for the roll-out of electric vehicle charging infrastructure, including a target to be a regional leader in terms of charge points per 100,000 population by 2025, and a national leader by 2030. The Council is on track to achieving the 2025 target, maintaining this position will require a significant increase in charge point provision.