Plans to roll out more EV chargepoints across Leicestershire have taken a major step forward.
Leicestershire County Council is part of a consortium, along with four other authorities, which has secured almost £1m of government funding to install public chargepoints across the Midlands.
County councillors recently approved a new strategy for EVs and, in collaboration with chargepoint operator Wenea, work will now start on delivering new chargepoints at on-street locations across the county as part of the Local Electric Vehicle Infrastructure (LEVI) pilot project.
Ozzy O’Shea, County Council cabinet member for highways and transport, says: “With EV ownership growing rapidly in Leicestershire, we need a chargepoint network that can keep up. Many of our residents don’t have access to a driveway – but this shouldn’t be a barrier to making the switch to electric.
“Working with Wenea to roll out an innovative on-street chargepoint network which meets the needs of our communities is a huge step forward in the council’s journey towards a carbon neutral future.”
Wenea will provide a complete charging system, starting from network design and deployment through to operation of the charging infrastructure. It will be Leicestershire’s first public on-street EV charging infrastructure.
The project’s main aim is making EV charging accessible to a wider range of residents within the county, especially to those without access to off-street parking. Chargepoints will be strategically placed to best serve the needs of local communities and meet growing demand, based on feedback from residents and careful research.
A roll-out of chargepoints is planned from 2025 onwards, with more details on locations to be released closer to the time.
