Regional disparity in access to EV charging is a sore point in the UK. In London, there are an estimated 122 public charge points per 100,000 residents, but other regions lag far behind. According to charging infrastructure provider Be.EV, the Northwest has the lowest number of chargers per capita of any English region—a mere 32 per 100,0000 people.
Together with Trafford Council, Be.EV means to correct that—the company has rolled out the first tranche of a planned 100 new charging bays in Greater Manchester.
All 100 public chargers are to be delivered by 2023. Be.EV has leased the sites from the local council, and will be responsible for building and maintaining the network, so no capital investment was required from the local authority.
Be.EV and the EV team at Trafford Council worked together to select locations for the new chargers according to where they are most needed (near houses without driveways, for example) and where they could be deployed quickly. There was also a public consultation—feedback highlighted demand for faster chargers in safe, well-lit locations.
“The aim of this roll-out is to create dependable, fair access to public EV charging across the borough,” said Chris Morris, Director of Transport, Highways and Environment at Trafford Borough Council. “We want to build the infrastructure that encourages everybody to go electric—even if they can’t charge at home. The team at Be.EV use street-level data to really drill into neighbourhoods and find the locations that make the biggest difference locally. Building bigger hubs that ensure there’s always a free space is part of that strategy.”
Source: Be.EV
