British Government funds local charging infrastructure

The British government continues delivering its Local Electric Vehicle fund to councils, which can best choose where to install charge points. Following the approval of the first full LEVI applications in February, payments to another 44 councils worth over £185 million have been approved.

The British government launched LEVI in March 2022 as part of a bigger push to increase the number of public charging points in the UK to 300,000 by 2030. The overall budget of 1.6 billion pounds includes £450 million for LEVI focused on the local level. The “pilot fund” was released in August 2022 with nine local authorities.

For the recent round announced today, payments to 44 additional councils from Torbay to Tees Valley, worth over £185 million, have been approved. The government added that this round will support the delivery of thousands of charge points across England without disclosing details.

The second round of LEVI funding is also coming up. Local authorities allocated to said round can apply just after Easter, from 2 April 2024.

To help councils deliver EV infrastructure, the government is also funding a dedicated training course that will launch in full this week. The course is open to all local authorities and will cover key topics from technology to procurement.

LEVI funding has also helped to place almost 150 dedicated EV officers in councils to support charge point planning and delivery.

The government also had more e-mobility news. The electric vehicle charge point grant of £350 will be widened to those who own or rent and can access adequate street parking. This means they are calling on private drivers to install charging stations. To do so, applicants must have permission from their council to install “a cross-pavement charging solution”. Applications can be made online.

As for public charge points, the government claims 56,983 have been installed across the UK, together with private stakeholders. It’s a 47% increase compared to this time last year.

These will be needed. According to industry statistics, fully electric vehicles account for over 16% of the new UK car market in 2023. Moreover, the government’s ZEV mandate requires 80% of new cars and 70% of new vans sold in Great Britain to have zero emissions by 2030 and 100% by 2035.

Today also marked the launch of the Electric Vehicle Infrastructure Forum, ensuring collaboration between government and industry. The forum, chaired by ministers and AA President Edmund King, will discuss how best to tackle barriers and accelerate the delivery of charging infrastructure. The government adds that broader membership will be set out in due course.

gov.uk