Residents are being asked for suggestions on potential locations for new public electric vehicle (EV) charge points across Cornwall.
Cornwall Council has been provisionally allocated £5.5m from the Department for Transport’s Local Electric Vehicle Infrastructure (LEVI) Fund to further boost the county’s EV charging network. The bid will be developed and submitted this year for a five-year programme.
To make the most of the funding available, the Council is looking to communities for suggestions – residents, community groups, town and parish councils are all being asked to help.
Make your suggestions for potential electric vehicle charge point locations
Richard Williams-Pears, Cornwall Council cabinet portfolio holder for transport, said:
“The number of charge points needs to keep pace with the rise in electric vehicle ownership, which is set to increase over the next ten years as the ban on new diesel and petrol engines draws near.
“We want to develop Cornwall’s network of public charge points to complement commercial networks and will be primarily looking at installing units on council-owned land. This will include both on and off-street locations, with chargers offering varying speeds and costs to meet the needs of drivers.
“We’re looking for suggestions on where chargers might be needed – and our focus is on lower powered ‘destination’ chargers to support EV drivers without access to home charges and where the private sector unlikely to install their own.”
There are currently more than 450 charging units across Cornwall and most allow two cars to charge at the same time. Of these, 113 charging units - with 226 points - were installed last year as part of the Council’s Drive EV2 project.
Martyn Alvey, Cornwall Council cabinet portfolio for the environment, said:
“Cornwall Council declared a climate emergency in 2019, signalling an ambition for Cornwall to strive towards becoming carbon neutral by 2030.
“Road transport accounts for almost a quarter of Cornwall’s carbon emissions and it’s clear that we all have a role in cutting this figure to help protect the environment and improve air quality.
“The infrastructure has to be in place for people to be able to consider making the switch to electric vehicles, which is why we want to hear from residents about where chargers are most needed.”
Cornwall Council is also seeking expressions of interest from parish and town councils interested in exploring the possibility of installing electric vehicle charging points on land they own or lease from Cornwall Council.
