Northumberland County Council has passed a motion to add 36 public electric vehicle charging points at 26 locations, extending the local authority's existing charging network. An in-house council EV team will be responsible for installing and maintaining the new units.
Most of the additions — 78 per cent — will be built on land owned by the council. The remaining chargers will be sited on land held by third parties, with those sites secured through licensing agreements.
Just over £1 million in external funding from the City Region Sustainable Transport Settlement will pay for the charging infrastructure. Revenue generated by the charge points is to be used to cover their running costs, management and maintenance, and the funding is intended to support the rollout until 2029.
Richard Wearmouth, the cabinet member with responsibility for transport at the council, welcomed the extra investment in local charging provision. He said Northumberland has one of the largest road networks in the country and that it is vital the county has the facilities people need to get around.
The county lies in the northeast of England, borders Scotland and covers Hadrian's Wall and the Northumberland National Park. Its sustainable transport offering expanded a few months ago, when 14 BYD BD11 battery-electric buses entered service.
The announcement did not state the power ratings of the planned chargers or name the individual sites, so the balance between rapid and slower units, and how the 26 locations are spread across the county, have yet to be confirmed.