West Sussex Receives Grant Of Over £5.5m For EV Charging Points

Friday, 22 September 2023 06:00

By Karen Dunn, Local Democracy Reporter

West Sussex County Council has received a grant of more than £5.5million to pay for the installation of up to 1,000 electric vehicle charging points.

The money was received from the Office of Zero Emission Vehicles and will also cover infrastructure for up to 400 ‘passive’ charge points, which can be activated as demand increases.

The council published its Electric Vehicle Strategy in December 2019, teaming up with Arun District Council, Adur and Worthing Councils, Crawley Borough Council, Horsham District Council and Mid Sussex District Council to appoint charge-point operator Connected Kerb as installer and operator.

The grant will cover 60 per cent of the installation costs, with Connected Kerb covering the rest.

The charge-points will be installed on-street – subject to the Traffic Regulation Order process – and within district/borough council car parks – a total of 230 locations.

Before any decisions about where to install the charging points are taken, the county council intends to consult with some 240,000 households to get a feel for public opinion.

Joy Dennis, cabinet member for highways & transport, said:

“This grant funding is excellent news for the residents of West Sussex.

“Working in partnership with our supplier, Connected Kerb, and our borough and district council partners, it will significantly bolster our existing scheme to make on-street charging more accessible for residents who do not have off-street parking and boost our efforts to enable sustainable transport options across West Sussex.

“Carbon-neutral travel supports our ambition of building a sustainable and prosperous economy and aligns closely with the underpinning theme of tackling climate change in Our Council Plan.”