READING Borough Council has secured more than £860,000 of funding for its plans to install electric vehicle (EV) charging points.
The council is now gearing up to install thousands of charging points across town after the Department for Transport announced their allocation of money from the Local Electric Cehicle Infrastructure (LEVI) fund.
The £866,000 of funding means there are now set to be around 2,700 points installed on streets in Reading in an effort to combat barriers to the adoption of electric vehicles.
Points will be installed either as part of street lighting columns or as standalone units, with some of the funding earmarked for covering the costs of pavement “gullies.”
These will allow residents with EV charging points at home but who do not have any off-street parking to charge their vehicles.
It follows the approval of the EV Charging Infrastructure Strategy last week.
Cllr John Ennis, Lead Councillor for Climate Strategy and Transport, said: “A large proportion of Reading residents do not have off-street parking which means they are unable to charge electric vehicles at home and have limited alternative charging options available nearby.
“The £866,000 funding will enable us to deliver up to 2,700 on-street charging points and up to 150 pavement gullies to allow cables to safely cross footways and allow on-street charging from people’s homes.
“The creation of more public charging infrastructure will help remove a barrier to the take up of electric vehicles in Reading and encourage more residents to consider making the switch to an EV.”
Cllr Rob White, leader of the Green Party, said: “Take up of electric vehicles in Reading has been dramatically slowed down because of the failure of the Labour-run council to install electric charging points where people live.
“We have suggested ways this could be done like making use of money from developments but the council chose not to do this previously.
“Green councillors are pleased that the council has secured this grant but we would like to see the government doing more to make electric vehicles more affordable, and of course more needs to be done to improve walking, cycling and public transport.”
He continued: “Greens will keep working to tackle congestion and air pollution.”
“In addition to a range of Council investments in quicker and more reliable public transport as an alternative to the private car, plus better pedestrian and cycling facilities, fewer petrol and diesel vehicles on the road will reduce carbon emissions, improve air quality, which means a healthier town, and help achieve the Council’s ambition for Reading to be net zero carbon by 2030.”
