Government pledges £56m for more public chargepoints

Funding will provide 2,400 charging points across England

The funding will expand the current Local Electric Vehicle Infrastructure (LEVI) pilot,

The funding will expand the current Local Electric Vehicle Infrastructure (LEVI) pilot,

Local authorities will benefit from £56m in public and industry funding for increasing electric vehicle chargepoints.

The funding will expand the current Local Electric Vehicle Infrastructure (LEVI) pilot, boost the existing On-Street Residential Chargepoint Scheme (ORCS).

In total, £22m of government funding for the pilot areas is supported by an additional £17m of private funding, and £2m from public funds across local authorities.

The UK government estimates the funding will see a further 2,400 chargepoints installed.

The grants will also help councils across England secure dedicated resource to develop in-house expertise and capability to coordinate chargepoint plans and work with private operators – delivering a more comprehensive and reliable network of chargepoints for drivers.

In addition to expanding three of the original LEVI pilot schemes, there are also 16 new pilot scheme areas:

• £200,000 to Buckinghamshire
• £1.9m to Cumbria
• £1m to Hackney
• £2.3m to Harborough
• £1.8m to Hounslow
• £600,000 to Lancashire
• £1.6m to Norfolk
• £1.6m to Oxfordshire
• £1.6m to Rotherham
• £800,000 to Sunderland
• £2.5m to Waltham Forest
• £1m to Warwickshire
• £8.5m to West Midlands
• £2.9m to West Sussex
• £3m to West Yorkshire
• £1.9m to York
• £7.4m to Durham*
• £4.4m to Barnet*
• £3.6m to North Yorkshire*

*Denotes original LEVI pilot expansion.

Technology and decarbonisation transport minister Jesse Norman said: “The government is giving local authorities across England additional help today to energise their chargepoint roll-out plans. Today’s commitment will lead to thousands of new chargers being installed, and plans for tens of thousands extra in due course, so that more people than ever can make the transition to using EVs.”

In addition to expanding the pilot scheme, today also sees the launch of the £8m LEVI Capability Fund, which will equip local authorities with the skills and ambition to scale up their plans when it comes to their charging strategy.

The funding will help local authorities work with private business and chargepoint operators to drive the sustainable growth of local networks, building and utilising their collective knowledge and expertise to deliver the most ambitious chargepoint plans for their area.

The government is also bringing forward a further £7m funding for the existing On-Street Residential Chargepoint Scheme, bringing the total funding this year to £37m. Three thousand chargepoints have already been installed under ORCS with a further 10,000 in the pipeline.

Several additional funding schemes are already open and available to help install chargepoints for electric vehicles with government support, including the Workplace Charging Scheme, landlord grant and the private/rental grant.