Funding secured for updated EV infrastructure strategy

Argyll and Bute Council has secured £1.03m from the Scottish Government’s Electric Vehicle Charging Strategy to ensure that key town and island hubs in its area start to get charging infrastructure.

The allocation of the funding was approved by the Environment, Development and Infrastructure Committee at its meeting on 18 December.

Fifty five potential sites have been identified across the council area, and these sites are being assessed for grid capacity, charger configuration and installation costs. The investment will be prioritised to where it will have greatest impact.

The new EV charges will be over and above the 37 EV changers already available throughout Argyll and Bute.

While the current estimated costs are slightly higher than the funding currently available, the charging infrastructure can be phased in as and when additional funding is available. In the first instance, the focus will be on high-impact locations that will attract most use in the first instance, for example where people shop, work or visit local amenities.

The overall strategy is to build reliable, visible hubs then expand to smaller ‘spokes’ once the backbone of the network is established.

The first phase will deliver a network of multi-charger hubs, in principal towns and island centres, offering fast and rapid chargers located close to local amenities. These can be scaled-up in the future as demand increases.

Phase two will extend provision to small spoke sites within rural communities.

Cllr John Armour, policy lead for roads, transport and amenity services, said: “Developing an EV charging network in Argyll and Bute is challenging, given the geography and infrastructure, so additional funding is much needed and very welcome. As we steadily build the network, I look forward to phase two as we extend provision to our more rural communities.”