The Staffordshire County Council plans to support a strategy for building Staffordshire’s electric vehicle charging network for the future.
The county council will collaborate with district and borough councils, private providers and the energy sector to develop the charging network and fulfil the needs of communities and businesses as electric vehicle usage continues to rise.
As the government plans to prohibit sales of new petrol and diesel cars by 2030 and new hybrid vehicles by 2035, councils are being urged to develop strategies to increase the availability of charging points to support the transition.
The strategy will include the development of rapid speed charging stations, charging options at fuel stations, public and private parking lots, on-street charging, and residential charging options.
The strategy outlines commuting routes, popular destinations such as workplaces and leisure venues, and identifies areas where power is accessible. It also recommends appropriate locations for charging points. The strategy aligns with the county council’s goals of reducing carbon emissions and enhancing air quality. In 2019, the county council declared a climate emergency and pledged to achieve net carbon neutrality by 2050.
The strategy also details how the county, district, and borough councils should promote the installation of charging points at workplaces, retail parks, and other off-street parking locations, as well as in council-owned and managed car parks.
Currently, the majority of homes without off-street parking (97%) are not within walking distance of a public charging point, which affects about 92,000 properties. In October 2021, there were 300 public charging points in Staffordshire and the strategy aims to increase this number ten-fold to 3,000 within the next seven years.
In March 2022, the government released its national electric vehicle infrastructure strategy, which includes an additional £620 million in funding to support the transition away from petrol and diesel vehicles.
The strategy will be presented to members of the county council’s cabinet next Wednesday, January 18.
Staffordshire County Council’s cabinet member for highways and transport David Williams said:
“The UK is already embarking on the transition towards electric vehicle use which is good news in terms of our combined efforts to reduce carbon emissions and improve air quality.
“As national legislation draws nearer it’s important that we take steps to enable the right infrastructure is in place across the county. We have an important role to play, working with our district and borough colleagues, to determine what this will look like based on the evidence gathered.
“Our strategy helps us to identify where the most appropriate places for charging points could be and how we will work with the private sector to facilitate successful delivery. We can work with businesses to encourage workplace charging and residents to support off-street charging, in addition to people and organisations making planning applications.
“We understand that electricity may not be the only type of alternative power for vehicles in future years, but this strategy needs to focus on national policy. We anticipate funding will shortly become available from the Government to support our work to put the strategy in place.”
