Major new funding to increase county chargepoints for electric vehicles

More than £3 million in government funding has been secured to install electric chargepoints across the county.

Working with a number of other councils and Midlands Connect on the bid, Leicestershire County Council were successful in securing funding through the government’s Local Electric Vehicle Infrastructure scheme (LEVI).

The funding has been awarded to be used for delivery from 2024/25 and is expected to create up to 2,500 public electric vehicle chargepoints in Leicestershire by the end of 2030 to meet the needs of the growing market.

It also enables the county council to continue its green agenda and significant contribution to securing electric vehicle infrastructure across Leicestershire.

Councillor Ozzy O’Shea, cabinet member for highways and transport, said: “This is a fantastic boost for Leicestershire and we welcome this investment from central government.

"It means we can begin the delivery of chargepoints across the county, but we also look forward to further discussions with the government about future funding for this important infrastructure.”

Maria Machancoses, CEO of Midlands Connect, said: “We are delighted the government has allocated funding over £39.3million for 13 councils across the midlands.

“This is a vital next step in our efforts to improve electric vehicle charging infrastructure across the region ahead of the phase out of sales of new diesel and petrol cars and vans by 2030.

"This funding will improve the lives of those living in the midlands, particularly for those who do not have access to off-street parking and may struggle to charge their vehicle otherwise."

The locations for the charging points have not yet been identified and the council will now develop a delivery plan.

The focus will be on locations with the greatest public need, centring on residential streets where there is a high proportion of housing without access to private off-street parking.

Residents, businesses, shoppers and commuters will be able to have an input on where they would like to see EV charging points across Leicestershire with a countywide survey on electric vehicles (EV) set to launch in the autumn.

This will help County Hall better understand current and future demand for public EV charging points.