Views sought on future approach for driving forward West Northamptonshire’s Electric Vehicles Infrastructure
01 August 2024
People are being encouraged to share their views on plans to support the increase in electric vehicles (EVs) across West Northants, through developing and expanding the current charging infrastructure.
One of the barriers to converting to an electric vehicle is being able to charge at home as well as when out and about. At some stage in the future petrol and diesel cars will no longer be produced so we want to ensure that we have infrastructure in place that works for as many people as possible.
West Northamptonshire Council (WNC) is committed to working with partners to achieve net zero across the area by 2045 and has developed the Electric Vehicle Infrastructure Strategy which outlines how it will support the roll-out of charging infrastructure and help to address the climate challenge.
Views are being sought to help shape the strategy that aims to:
- Have appropriate charging facilities for EVs
- Make sure charging networks are reliable, affordable, accessible and maintained
- Support decarbonisation policies
- Support economic growth
- Improve and make best use of land and assets available.
Previous official figures on transport emissions for West Northants from 2020 showed they accounted for 45% of the total carbon emissions in the area, highlighting the importance of looking at further ways to reduce this.
The EV strategy will align with the wider Local Transport Policy (LTP) for West Northamptonshire that details WNC’s overarching ambition for local transport in the future. The LTP is also currently being consulted on and people can help shape this via our consultation hub.
The Council has already been awarded £409k following a successful application to the Government's local EV infrastructure (LEVI) Capability funding. This has been used to set up the Electric Vehicles Infrastructure Team that is leading the development of this strategy, the rollout of the infrastructure and its management, as required by the terms of the grant. WNC has also recently applied for £2.8m of funding from the LEVI Capital funding. The funding secured will help attract charge points operators (CPOs) to carry out the strategy.
“We know that people not being able to access public charge points is a real barrier that is holding them back from using EVs so this strategy sets out how we plan to change this.Cllr Rebecca Breese, WNC’s Cabinet Member for Environment, Waste and Recycling
“It’s really important we hear from residents, businesses and other stakeholders on these proposals and that they share with us any ideas and opportunities that we may not have thought of. This work will support the needs and aspirations of our communities in embracing greener transport and reducing their own carbon footprints whilst also contributing to the overall goal of achieving net zero across West Northants.”
The consultation closes on Sunday, 15 September and people can have their say via our consultation hub.
Responses to this consultation will be considered before the final strategy is produced. It will then be reviewed by stakeholders with an aim to present it to WNC’s Cabinet for approval in October 2024.