Electrifying Essex campaign promotes EV transition

Essex County Council plans to provide 5,000 chargepoints

A publicity campaign called Electrifying Essex is highlighting the benefits of switching to an electric vehicle following an £8.3m investment by Essex County Council.

The funding will see 5,000 EV charging points installed in public spaces across the county by 2031. It comes from the government’s Local Electric Vehicle Infrastructure (LEVI) fund following a successful bid by the county council. This is the second largest LEVI allocation awarded to any council in the UK.

Installation of the EV charging points will begin this summer in on-street locations and public car parks throughout Essex.

Work has also finished this month on a separate programme, resulting in an initial 62 public EV charging points in locations including:

• Basildon
• Brentwood
• Canvey Island
• Chelmsford
• Colchester
• Harlow
• Harwich.

The Electrifying Essex campaign will promote the growing EV charging network across the county and help more people consider driving an electric vehicle. It will highlight:

• the role of EVs in reducing emissions and improving air quality
• savings of up to £1,400 a year in fuel and maintenance costs
• support and incentives available to EV owners.

The county council is hosting an Electrifying Essex event at Colchester Park & Ride on Saturday 18 July. The event will help people find out more about EVs, hear from experts, meet local car dealers and even take a test drive.

Cllr Dan Land, deputy cabinet member for highways, infrastructure and sustainable transport, said: “We’re Electrifying Essex with thousands more electric vehicle charging points for the public. This will help make it easier than ever for our residents to consider going electric with their next car.

“Encouraging the switch to electric vehicles is an important part of our plans to improve air quality and our environment. Although they are only part of the solution, electric vehicles have a key role to play alongside other travel options such as walking and cycling.

“A growing number of people in Essex have already switched to an electric vehicle and are enjoying up to £1,400 in savings per year from fuel and maintenance costs. We want to support more of our residents to reap the benefits.

“Installing more public charging points can be vital for people without access to home charging. It also provides convenient access for drivers to charge their vehicles when they're away from home or on a longer journey.”