Electric vehicle owner Connected Kerb plans to more than double the number of chargers in North East Englandafter receiving the green light following its partnership with South Tyneside Council.
The company has partnered with the council to deploy up to 2,100 new charge points across the region.
The move marks the single largest installation of public EV charge points in the North of England since the Government announced ambitious net zero plans last year.
The North East is home to only 2.7 per cent of the UK’s public charging infrastructure, despite being being four per cent of the UK’s population.
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The partnership will see 80 per cent of the chargers operational in the next two years
CONNECTED KERB
This equates to just 58 chargers per 100,000 people, compared to 193 in London.
The new deployment will facilitate in up to 2,100 chargers installed in South Tyneside over the next 20 years with work due to begin this month.
Chris Pateman-Jones, CEO of Connected Kerb, said:“With millions of pounds available to local authorities from Government initiatives such as the LEVI Fund, councils are in the driving seat to take decisive, meaningful action to deploy charge points where their communities need them the most.
“Our partnership with South Tyneside Council is yet another example of bold ambition turned into action.”
The partnership will see 80 per cent of the chargers operational in the next two years.
The first phase of the installation will take place over at least 41 sites, including community centres, sports facilities and libraries such as Monkton Stadium, The Word and The Customs House Mill Dam car park.
As part of the rollout, 43 existing charge points will get upgraded to increase reliability and network uptime for users.
The move also supports the council’s efforts to reduce carbon emissions and become a carbon neutral authority by 2030.
Ernest Gibson, lead member for neighbourhoods and climate change at the council said: “The entire country is undergoing a massive shift in ways in which we travel, and we are committed to ensuring that South Tyneside plays its part.
“With the first chargers expected to be in the ground by the end of March, we are committed to giving more residents the confidence they need to make the switch to electric, whilst supporting our sustainability agenda.
“Our partnership with Connected Kerb – enabling the largest rollout of EV chargers in the North East – provides a blueprint for other councils right across the UK to follow.”
The Government recently launched an EV charger grant scheme which allowed drivers to get either £350 or 75 per cent off the cost to buy and install a socket.
Chargepoints take a variety of forms and can be placed at on-street or off-street locations. Many public points are integrated into a free-standing column, similar in size to a bollard, whereas rapid chargers are more like a large parking payment machine. Chargepoints can also be integrated into some streetlights.
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As of the end of February 2024, there were around 1.6million plug-in cars
CONNECTED KERB
As of the end of February 2024, there were around 1.6million plug-in cars, with over one million battery-electric cars and 620,000 PHEVs registered vehicles.