Blackburn with Darwen receives £1.6m from LEVI Fund

Blackburn with Darwen Council has received £1.6m to facilitate electric vehicle charging points via the UK government’s Local Electric Vehicle Infrastructure (LEVI) Fund.

Over 800 electric vehicle charge sockets will begin to be installed in the borough from next year.

The LEVI Fund supports local authorities in England to plan and deliver charge point infrastructure for residents without off-street parking.

In many residential areas in Blackburn with Darwen, private driveways are not available, making it harder for residents to charge electric vehicles near to their home. To support those communities, the council applied for funding and was successful, securing £1.6 million for on street public charge points.

Work has since begun by the council on creating new parking bays in locations highlighted by the Lancashire and Blackburn with Darwen EV Infrastructure Strategy to facilitate electric vehicle charging.

Wherever possible, sites for new charging bays have been selected to minimise disruption for residents, for example, by choosing the gable end of streets where no parking currently exists or disused areas of land.

The charging points themselves will be installed and managed by an external operator.

The council went out to tender in January 2025 to procure the operator on a 15-year contract, with Connected Kerb emerging as the successful bidder. Work is due to begin in January 2026, making this one the first LEVI contracts within the Northwest to reach the mobilisation phase.

Alongside the LEVI funding, private investment from Connected Kerb will fund the installation of 826 new EV charge sockets across Blackburn, Darwen and the surrounding rural areas that lack off-street parking. With the council’s aim to become carbon neutral by 2030, this project is a key part of that mission.

Cllr Quesir Mahmood, executive member for growth and development, said: “This is a huge opportunity for members of the community who may have considered owning an electric vehicle but haven’t been able to, because the necessary charging infrastructure isn’t available to them.

“By securing LEVI funding, we can help residents and visitors in areas who only have the option to park on the street, without affecting existing parking spaces. With the government now making it law for all new vehicles to be zero-emission by 2035, these charging points will allow our residents to get on the front foot.”

The UK government has announced that, by 2035, all new cars and vans will be zero-emission. This has been backed by over £7.5 billion already invested by government funding to expand charging infrastructure and incentivise zero emission vehicles. Therefore, its key that there are plenty of charging points available in the borough.

Aviation, maritime and decarbonisation minister, Keir Mather said: “We’re investing £1.6m to roll-out over 800 chargers in Blackburn with Darwen, making it easier than ever to charge up on the go – part of our £381m drive to install over 100,000 chargers across the country.

“Alongside boosting charging infrastructure we’re also tackling upfront costs when buying an EV with £1.3bn announced at the Budget to extend the Electric Car Grant to 2030 – saving drivers up to £3,750 off a range of new EVs.”

Connected Kerb already operates over 6,000 chargepoints across the UK. Chris Pateman-Jones, CEO of Connected Kerb said: “We’re proud to partner with Blackburn with Darwen Borough Council on one of the North West’s first LEVI projects to reach mobilisation. Delivering over 800 new sockets will significantly expand charging access across the borough and ensure residents have the reliable infrastructure they need to make the shift to zero-emission transport.”