Councils in West Sussex have launched the rollout of thousands of electric vehicle charging points, to be installed over the next decade.
Councillors suggest that around 3,300 points will be needed by 2025 and around 7,000 by 2030 - dependent on public uptake of electric vehicles and manufacturers being able to deliver.
West Sussex County Council, Adur and Worthing Councils, Arun District Council, Crawley Borough Council, Horsham District Council and Mid Sussex District Council signed a contract last year with Connected Kerb, one of the country's leading providers of EV charging infrastructure solutions, to install and maintain thousands of charging points across the county.
They say the project will transform access to charge points, especially for residents who do not have off-street parking.
Residents will be consulted over where they want the charging points located.
Councillors, alongside Connected Kerb representatives, gathered at Hazelgrove Road Car Park, Haywards Heath, on Monday (June 20) to mark the roll-out, which will take place over the next decade.
Deborah Urquhart, West Sussex County Council Cabinet Member for Environment and Climate Change, said:
“This is a milestone moment for the county as these chargepoints are the first of many to be installed across West Sussex, servicing residents’ electric vehicle charging needs.
“They offer people without off-street parking convenient and reliable charging as they will be sited both within car parks and on-street.
“We know that some residents have hesitated to make the switch to electric vehicles because of a lack of public chargepoints: we hope this launch will encourage them to reconsider, make the change and, in turn, have a positive impact on carbon emissions and air quality.
“I’m looking forward to working alongside Connected Kerb and our district and borough council partners to deliver the network of West Sussex chargepoints.”
Chris Pateman-Jones, CEO of Connected Kerb, said:
“We are looking forward to starting work on this game-changing project for electric vehicles in West Sussex.
"The challenge of scale is very real – no other council has undertaken this number of charging points in a single roll-out – but we are committed to ensuring that EV becomes accessible, sustainable and affordable for every EV user in the county.
"Furthermore, we hope it will encourage further EV uptake as we move towards 2030 and the ban on sales of new diesel and petrol vehicles.”
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