Northumberland County Council has passed a motion to add 36 public electric vehicle charge points at 26 locations, expanding the council’s existing charging network. The county lies in northeast England, borders Scotland and is known for Hadrian’s Wall and Northumberland National Park.
Seventy-eight per cent of the new charge points will be installed on land owned by the council. The remaining chargers will be located on land owned by third parties through licensing agreements. Most of the new infrastructure will therefore sit on council-owned sites, while a smaller share will use land secured through licences.
The charging infrastructure is being financed with just over £1 million in external funding from the City Region Sustainable Transport Settlement. Revenue generated by the chargers is being used to meet their running costs, management and maintenance. The funding will be used to roll out the charge points until 2029.
Northumberland County Council has an in-house EV team that will install and maintain the chargers. The team’s role covers installation and ongoing upkeep of the new equipment.
Cllr Richard Wearmouth, Cabinet Member with responsibility for transport at Northumberland County Council, said that more investment in EV charging provision was welcome. He added that the county has one of the largest road networks in the country and that it was vital to ensure the necessary facilities are available to help people get around.
The region recently gained 14 new BYD BD11 battery-electric buses, which entered service a few months ago.