Powering the Future: UK Government Charges Ahead with Thousands of New EV Charging Points in Council Areas

Thousands of new electric vehicle (EV) charging points will be installed in England, the UK Department for Transport (DfT) has announced.

Some 2,400 new charging stations will be created in 16 council areas, including Oxfordshire, Norfolk and Cumbria.

The latest phase of the Local Electric Vehicle Infrastructure (LEVI) scheme is funded by £56 million of public and industry investment.

The DfT said it would “activate” the charge point rollout plan.

The other councils receiving funding from the scheme are Buckinghamshire, Hackney, Harborough, Hounslow, Lancashire, Rotherham, Sunderland, Waltham Forest, Warwickshire, West Midlands, West Sussex, West Yorkshire and York.

In the longer term, all 16 companies will also receive support to install “tens of thousands” of charging points in partnership with private operators, the DfT added.

Transport Secretary Jesse Norman said: “The government is today providing extra help to local authorities across England to push forward with their charging station rollout plans.

“Today’s commitment will result in the installation of thousands of new chargers, with tens of thousands more planned in due course, so that more people than ever before can transition to electric vehicles.”

Fewer than 9,000 public EV chargers were installed in the UK last year, leading to claims that the infrastructure can’t keep up with demand.

Recent government figures show that the number of new devices available for use rose by just 8,680 last year, a 31% increase in the total.

The DfT said the government had already spent more than £2bn to support the switch to zero-emission vehicles.

The three original pilot sites in the LEVI program are located in Barnet, London and Durham, North Yorkshire.

The sale of new petrol and diesel cars and vans will be banned in the UK from 2030.