A council has successfully bid for £3.6m so it can have more public electric vehicle (EV) chargers. Oxfordshire County Council made an application to the Department for Transport for funding towards its Oxfordshire Local Electric Vehicle Infrastructure programme.
The local authority said as a result of the award it would be tripling the number of EV chargers in the county. More than 1,300 public chargers are to be delivered by the end of 2025.
The council said the money would kickstart a “rollout of infrastructure worth over £10m” that would be the “largest deployment of public EV charging infrastructure ever seen in Oxfordshire”. It led the application in collaboration with Oxford City Council and Cherwell, West Oxfordshire, South Oxfordshire and Vale of White Horse district councils.
The focus will be on standard 7kW chargers that residents without home chargers can use overnight at discounted rates. Rapid chargers and charging bays for van drivers, disabled drivers and EV car clubs will also be installed.
The council said most of the charging points would be installed in off-street parking locations, such as its own car parks. Longer-term plans include starting a grant scheme so parish councils and associations can set up charging microhubs at village halls and community centres.
— CutC by bbc.com
