Oxfordshire will receive £3.6 million to triple its number of public electric vehicle (EV) chargers after the county’s Local EV Infrastructure (LEVI) bid was approved.
Published: Tuesday, 19th March 2024
Cherwell will benefit from funding from the Department for Transport that will see additional electric vehicle chargers installed across the district.
Across Oxfordshire more than 1,300 public chargers will be delivered by the end of 2025 with additional funding coming from investment from the EV chargepoint operators themselves.
The programme aims to create a reliable, easy-to-use, contactless EV charging network spanning the county. This will give more people the opportunity to switch to an EV – regardless of where they live or their parking situation – to improve Oxfordshire's environment and air quality.
The programme, known as OXLEVI, will be the largest deployment of public EV charging infrastructure ever seen in Oxfordshire and will treble the amount of public chargers currently available.
The focus will be on standard 7kW chargers that residents without home chargers can use overnight at discounted rates. The new EV chargers network will also provide much needed top-up charging for residents, visitors, commuters and working drivers during the daytime.
The scheme is expected to include the installation of rapid chargers and charging bays suitable for van drivers, disabled drivers and EV car clubs. Most of the new EV chargers will be installed in off-street parking locations such as council car parks, building on the success of the Park and Charge project, which installed 250 EV charging points across council car parks in Oxfordshire between 2021 - 2022.
Councillor Andrew McHugh, Cherwell District Council’s Portfolio Holder for Cleaner and Greener Communities, said: “Supporting environmental sustainability is a key priority to Cherwell District Council and this funding will enable us to improve and expand access to electric vehicle charging across the district.
“Electric vehicles are rising in popularity as more people look to play their part in addressing the challenge of climate change. There’s already a great level of take-up for electric vehicles in north Oxfordshire and I hope that those considering one will be encouraged to do so by our expansion of charging infrastructure and provisions.”
Oxfordshire’s councils will shortly be tendering for suppliers to deliver and operate the new public EV charging network and will announce more details of site locations following full feasibility studies later this year.