Project Hundreds of new vehicle charging points planned for city
HUNDREDS of new electric vehicle charging stations are planned across the Bristol region in a project starting this summer.
The charging points will be installed in car parks, railway stations, supermarkets and on residential streets without driveways.
More than 300 chargers will be installed across the West of England region, including 187 in Bristol. The rollout will take until March 2026 and is expected to cost £4.9 million, funded from the combined authority’s green recovery fund.
Bristol City Council transport bosses hope the investment will boost confidence that drivers can conveniently find somewhere to charge up, and encourage more to make the switch from petrol or diesel to electric. EVs don’t emit greenhouse gases and contribute far less to climate change.
Speaking during a cabinet meeting on Tuesday, Labour councillor Kye Dudd, cabinet member for housing services and energy, said: “The rollout will start in the summer and will focus on community charging hubs, destination charging at places like supermarkets and on-street residential. The investment will mean more residents opt for electric vehicles.”
In Bristol, the plans include 11 community charging points, such as in quiet off-street car parks; 26 destination charging points in places like railway stations, shopping centres, cinemas or hotels; and 150 on-street residential charging points, either fitted to lampposts, or on pavements where wide enough or installed on the road.
Cllr Don Alexander, cabinet member for transport, added: “EVs will be part of the solution but we recognise there’s also some downsides in an urban context – particulates and congestion, for instance. We’re supporting this but [are] very mindful of the needs of people with disabilities and the need to keep footways clear for people who are not able to work their way around.
“I’ve seen one or two examples on social media of where charging points have gone in, in a way that hasn’t recognised the needs of people in wheelchairs. That won’t be happening here.”