Doubts cast on DfT’s EV charger funding scheme
THE effectiveness of a Government scheme to improve public EV charging infrastructure has been questioned, following a lack of transparency and concerns over uptake from councils.
Department for Transport (DfT) chiefs announced a £20million investment last week in the Local EV Infrastructure (LEVI) pilot scheme, with nine councils – Barnet, Dorset, Durham, Kent, Midlands Connect, North Yorkshire, Nottinghamshire, Suffolk and Warrington – being awarded funding. The money is expected to go towards the installation of around 1,000 chargers.
Similar projects to help EV drivers who don’t have off-street parking, such as the On-street Residential Chargepoint Scheme (ORCS), have previously struggled to attract bids from local authorities. Only 107 councils have successfully applied for ORCS funding in the past five years.
Auto Express asked the DfT how many councils had applied for LEVI funding. The Government department said the application process was “popular”, but refused outright to give a specific figure.
Reacting to this, AA head of roads policy Jack Cousens said: “It’s important to know which councils want to be at the forefront of the transition to electric cars against those that will do so at the point of last resort. If the switch to electric is to be successful, then we will need more chargepoints, including those in residential areas for the 40 per cent of households without dedicated off-street parking.
“Recent DfT data showed there are gaping holes in the on-street residential charging network and these desperately need filling. It is also vital we help rural drivers, too, rather than assume this issue is just an urban problem.”
Although councils say they are in favour of receiving money for EV chargepoints, there is a desire for more stable long-term funding and a more precisely planned rollout.
Cllr David Renard, the Local Government Association’s transport spokesman, said: “It’s vital that the Government learns lessons from the pilots and applies them throughout the rest of the programme. What all places need is long-term certainty of funding, including resources to coordinate and plan delivery so every area has sufficient chargepoint capacity to meet demand.”
“If the switch to electric is to be successful, we will need more chargepoints“
JACK COUSENS
AA head of roads policy