Suffolk County Council gets £5.9m for electric vehicle chargepoints

Five local authorities in the east of England will benefit from investment, with individual councils deciding on the most appropriate public places to install chargepoints. Norfolk is to receive £7.1m.

This is the second wave of the government’s Local Electric Vehicle (LEVI) fund, with 44 councils benefitting from a total investment of £185m in this round of funding.

Councillor Richard Rout, Suffolk County Council’s deputy leader and cabinet member for finance and environment, said: “The recent EV: Ready Report, which the county council commissioned on behalf of all local authorities in Suffolk, suggests a need for 2,000 standard chargers and 40 to 60 rapid charging stations in Suffolk by 2030, to meet the demand of the EV transition.

“The LEVI funding will enable the council to play its part in moving Suffolk closer to those numbers, building on all our EV achievements so far – for example, the county council has been working on the county’s EV charging infrastructure since 2018 when we launched the Plug In Suffolk project.

“Supporting Suffolk’s residents, businesses and visitors to move to EVs goes beyond just using less petrol and diesel. It’s about improving Suffolk’s air quality and enabling us to live healthier lives, and reducing the impacts of climate change which have once again been brought into sharp focus by the many storms and flooding events we’ve seen in recent months.”

Across Suffolk, the Plug In Suffolk campaign has delivered 100 public chargepoints at 31 locations, with installation of the charger and seven years of maintenance covered by the council.

Now, with this new wave of funding, it is hoped even more can be installed.

Technology and Decarbonisation Minister Anthony Browne said: “This Government has a plan to help speed up the installation of EV chargepoints, which we’re getting on and delivering across the East of England.

“This dedicated funding to local councils in the East of England is part of our plan to ensure people can switch from a petrol or diesel car to an EV when they choose to do so.”

To date, a total of 56,000 public chargepoints have now been installed across the UK.

As well as funding for public chargepoints, an Electric Vehicle Chargepoint Grant of £350 is available for individuals wanting to make the transition.

Those who own or rent their homes and have access to adequate street parking, and have permission from the council, can apply online.

Concerns about access to charging points is the most frequent reason given by the public for reluctance to switch to electric cars.