We’re following the progress of the electric vehicle (EV) market closely so we can support our residents with suitable charging points where they are needed most.
With a ban on sales of new petrol and diesel cars nationally being postponed until 2035 by Government, the uptake of electric vehicles (EV) is forecast to rapidly increase over the next decade.
Government’s UK electric vehicle infrastructure strategy, published in March 2022, predicts that a minimum of 300,000 public charging points will be needed nationally by 2030 to meet the expected demand - currently there are around 50,000.
We declared a climate emergency in May 2019, aspiring to zero carbon by 2030 for our own operations and ahead of national targets, as well as joining the UK100 coalition, pledging to reach a revised target of achieving net zero across the county by 2045, five years sooner than the government target of 2050.
To help us decarbonise transport and contribute to our net zero ambitions for the county, we're keen to support residents in switching to electric vehicles.
Nevertheless, this is a new and very challenging area for local authorities, with very little consensus nationally on how to provide the necessary charging infrastructure in a coordinated way, to deal with growing EV demand, particularly for those without access to off-street parking.
Secured almost £1million of Government’s first portion of Local electric vehicle infrastructure (LEVI) funding along with 4 other local authorities and Midlands Connect. It is expected that this support from Government will attract additional private sector investment, with cumulative funds being used to deliver up to an initial 100 public chargepoints across the county, with rollout from Summer 2024.
Whilst specific chargepoints point locations have yet to be determined, the focus will be on locations within the most populated settlements in Leicestershire. This will center on residential streets where there are high proportions of housing without access to private off-street parking. Chargepoints will consist of a mix of standard and rapid chargers and be subject to local consultation and grid capacity checks.
Carried out a countywide EV consultation survey between the start of October and the end of November 2023, providing an opportunity for current and future EV owners to tell us about their charging habits and potential charging concerns. The survey also allowed current and future EV owners to place markers on an interactive chargepoint map, in locations where they would like to see a chargepoint.
Analyse the results of our countywide EV survey. Feedback from the survey will provide the authority with a better understanding of the demand for EV charging across the county and help us start to plan a network of public chargepoints that works for our communities. Thank you to all those who filled in the survey.
We will also provide further opportunities for residents to provide feedback on future chargepoint locations.
Continue to work with Midlands Connect and a number of other local authorities to bid for further LEVI funding, which would bring hundreds more public EV chargepoints to Leicestershire and help meet the needs of the growing EV market.
Continue to consider opportunities to introduce public chargepoints within our Country Parks and additional chargepoints at our Park and Ride sites.
Electric vehicle charging points can now be found in many public places - supermarkets, garages, town centres and at many workplaces.
Zap-Map displays the locations and providers of the charging points, the type of charge, its availability and utilisation fee (if applicable).
Residents without access to private off-street parking and charging facilities are not currently permitted to trail a charging cable over the pavement or street between their property and vehicle, even if it is covered by a cable cover or mat. Residents are also not permitted to install a private charge point on the street outside their home.
As a Local Highway Authority we understand and recognise that this is not an ideal situation. Trailing cables can be detrimental to inclusive mobility, presenting a potential hazard for pedestrians and cyclists and can be a barrier to wheelchair and pushchair users.
We currently follow government guidance on this matter, set out in Government’s EV infrastructure strategy.
We will continue to investigate options to address this issue and are reviewing what other authorities have introduced or are currently piloting, to learn from their experiences.
By installing publicly available charge points in district run car parks, districts councils are also playing a key role in helping facilitate the roll out of EV charge points. Charge points have already been installed in several car parks and there are plans to install more.
For further information about each district, please see the following pages:
The latest details on Government EV infrastructure grant schemes for renters and flat owners, small and medium businesses, businesses, charities and public sector organisations and landlords can be found on the government’s Office for zero emission vehicles (OZEV) webpage.
For more information about electric bikes and scooters see our Choose how you move website.
For information about charging points in Leicester, see Leicester City council's website.
For further information about electric vehicles, including the benefits of owning an EV, see the Energy saving trust (EST) website.
