Cornwall to expand EV charging network with up to 2,000 charge points

Cornwall Council in southwest England has secured £5.5 million in government funding to deploy up to 2,000 new EV charging points, aiming to improve access to residential and on-street charging across rural and urban areas.

The funding will be provided by the UK Government’s Local Electric Vehicle Infrastructure (LEVI) Fund. The initiative will see the rollout of up to 2,000 new charging points across the county, with installation beginning in 2025.

The programme will focus on lower-powered, cost-effective residential charging solutions. The first wave of installations will target council-owned car parks, while a phased introduction of on-street charging infrastructure will follow. According to the council, this marks the first time on-street EV charging will be considered as part of Cornwall’s public transport strategy.

The Council is currently inviting input from residents, community organisations, and local authorities to help identify priority locations for new charging infrastructure.

“With less than five years to go until the ban on new diesel and petrol engines comes into effect, we want to make sure the infrastructure is in place to meet the needs of our residents,” said Cllr Dan Rogerson, Cabinet Member for Transport at Cornwall Council. “This funding means we can install chargers in our rural communities where the private sector is unlikely to invest. It also means that, for the first time, we can consider on-street charging. To make the most difference however, we need to hear from communities about where to install them.”

The council also states that Cornwall is already among the top 20 per cent of local authority areas in the UK for public EV charging provision. In 2023, 226 new charge points were deployed through the Drive EV2 project, co-funded by the European Regional Development Fund and Cornwall’s Carbon Neutral Fund. These were installed across 42 council-owned car parks, forming the basis for the broader network that will now expand under LEVI.

The Local Electric Vehicle Infrastructure Fund was established by the UK’s Department for Transport to help local governments accelerate the rollout of EV charging, especially in areas where private sector investment has been limited. Cornwall’s approach aims to ensure equitable access to charging for residents without off-street parking, a key barrier to EV adoption in rural and less densely populated regions.

cornwall.gov.uk