Electric vehicle points to increase in West Midlands under new £3m scheme
Electric vehicle (EV) charging points will be increased in the West Midlands under a scheme backed by £3 million in Government and industry funding.
Transport Minister Jesse Norman said the overall £56m scheme would result in a further 227 points nationally with support for many more in the long run.
The funding has been allocated to the West Midlands Combined Authority (WMCA) which is expected to lead the roll-out to help tackle carbon emissions.
Mr Norman said: "The Government is giving local authorities across England additional help today to energise their charge-point roll-out plans.
“Today’s commitment will lead to thousands of new chargers being installed, and plans for tens of thousands extra in due course, so that more people than ever can make the transition to using EVs."
The funding will expand the current Local Electric Vehicle Infrastructure (LEVI) Pilot, boost the existing On-Street Residential Charge-point Scheme (ORCS) and help councils to deliver a "more comprehensive" and reliable network of charging points.
The overall announcement totals up to £56 million with part of it including £8m for the LEVI Capability Fund to hand councils and other bodies the power to scale up their plans.
The funding will help the WMCA work in tandem with private business, and charge-point operators will drive the sustainable growth of local networks, building and utilising their collective knowledge and expertise to deliver the most ambitious charge-points plans for their area.
Today also sees the Government bringing forward a further £7 million funding for the existing On-Street Residential Charge-point Scheme, bringing the total funding this year to £37 million – 3,000 charge-points have already been installed under ORCS with a further 10,000 in the pipeline.
