Grants in Wales for residential charging points
Nine local authorities across Wales are set to receive hundreds of thousands of pounds from the UK Government’s Office for Low Emission Vehicles (OLEV) to install electric vehicle charge points in car parks in residential areas.
Five councils in Gwent including Blaenau Gwent, Caerphilly, Monmouthshire, Newport and Torfaen will receive £458,724.50 this year to install 73 charge points with 146 individual sockets across the region.
Blaenau Gwent cabinet member Dai Davies said local authorities and their partners would support residents who were “passionate” about cutting their use of fossil fuels, adding that “We are delighted to be able to give them confidence to use electric vehicles now and for our future generations.”
The charging points will be installed near residential areas where people have no off-street parking. The government said this was aimed at overcoming a barrier to the take-up of electric cars, among motorists unable to plug in their vehicles at home.
Secretary of state for Wales, Alun Cairns, said: “The next few decades will be transformative for our transport industry and therefore it is vital that electric vehicle drivers feel confident about the availability of charge points near their homes and along their journeys.”
The scheme, which will provide 146 individual charging sockets, has to be completed by the end of March for the government money to be claimed. Cardiff, Carmarthenshire, Powys and Swansea councils have also applied for thousands of pounds of funding, with the amounts set to be confirmed.
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