Northumberland County Council has passed a motion to add 36 public electric-vehicle charge points at 26 locations, expanding the network the council already runs across the county in northeast England.
Ownership of the ground under the new units is split: 78 per cent of the charge points will be installed on land owned by the council, while the remainder will go on land held by third parties under licensing agreements. Spreading 36 units over 26 sites means several locations will take more than one charge point while others receive a single unit.
Funding and upkeep
The installation is being financed with just over £1 million in external funding from the City Region Sustainable Transport Settlement, and that money is to be used to roll out the charge points until 2029. Running costs are handled separately: revenue generated by the chargers is used to meet their running costs, management and maintenance.
Delivery and upkeep sit with the council's in-house EV team, which will install and maintain the hardware.
Why the county is adding capacity
Northumberland is a large, thinly populated county that borders Scotland and is known for Hadrian's Wall and the Northumberland National Park. Cllr Richard Wearmouth, the cabinet member with responsibility for transport, said it was good to see more investment going into charging provision, adding that the county has one of the largest road networks in the country and that it is vital to have the necessary facilities to help people get around.
The charging expansion comes a few months after 14 BYD BD11 battery-electric buses entered service in the region.