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£20 million funding to deliver 1,000 public EV charge points – but will commercial vehicles benefit?
The government has this week announced a £20 million funding package to deliver 1,000 new public electric vehicle charge points nationwide.
Nine local authorities – Barnet, Durham, Dorset, Kent, Midlands Connect (with Lincolnshire as lead authority), North Yorkshire, Nottinghamshire, Suffolk and Warrington – will receive a share of £10 million as part of the Local EV (LEVI) pilot scheme, backed by an additional £9 million of private investment and £1.9 million drawn from public funds across local authorities. A further £10 million will be made available to expand the existing charge point scheme.
The plans will enable those without offroad points to have better access to EV chargers, as well as growing the existing charging network across the country, support the nation’s uptake of zero emission vehicles and enable more people to drive and charge without fear of losing battery power, wherever they are in the country.
Speaking about the announcement, Policy Manager Denise Beedell was cautiously supportive of the news:
“Logistics UK welcomes the announcement on the EV charging network – a welcome boost to help the nation’s switch to alternatively fuelled vehicles. However, it is vital that the public charge point network is fully accessible to commercial vehicles, as well as private cars, in order to enable logistics businesses to meet the industry’s net zero targets.
“Many van drivers will require access to public charge points on the streets where they work and live, particularly as many will not have access to off-street parking. This will also require charge point spaces large enough to accommodate vans as well as cars.”
*www.logistics.org.uk/environment
Published On: 08/09/2022 16:00:02
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