Electric Vehicle Infrastructure Strategy: CCN response

Today the government has released its Electric Vehicle Infrastructure strategy, which sets out an ambition for the UK to have 300,000 publicly available chargers installed by 2030.

The strategy sets out how the £1.6bn allocated for electric vehicle charging infrastructure in the government’s Net Zero Strategy could be spent, including £500m to boost the number of publicly available  and on-street charging points.

Previous County Councils Network research has revealed there is a wide chasm between the availability of public chargers in county areas compared to the cities. Based on data from October, there is just one charger for every 16 miles on average in county areas, compared to one every mile in London.

Below, CCN responds to today’s announcements.

Cllr Sam Corcoran, Climate Change Spokesperson for the County Councils Network, said:

“England’s counties are lagging far behind the largest cities when it comes to publicly-available electric vehicle charging points, with the County Councils Network’s analysis showing that drivers in county areas have one charging point for every 16 miles, compared to one every mile in London. This makes it difficult for county drivers to switch to electric, leaving behind county areas and impacting on the country’s net zero ambitions.  

“Therefore it is vital that the funding announced today to boost public charge points is prioritised towards county areas so they can offer the same level of infrastructure to help drivers make the switch to electric as the major cities. The commitments today could create a step-change in the usage of electric vehicles, but it is imperative that all four corners of England have good access to charge points.

“A total of £1.6bn for electric vehicle infrastructure is a significant sum, but the government should keep this figure under review. Net zero cannot be delivered on a shoestring.”