An east London council has announced plans to have more electric vehicle charging points than any other borough in Britain.
Hackney wants to increase the number of publicly-available chargers from 346 to about 3,000 by 2026.
But it faces competition from Westminster council, which currently leads the UK with about 2,450 charging points - and has plans for more over the next 12 months.
Hackney, which aims to convert 75 per cent of residential roads to low traffic neighbourhoods (LTNs) to deter through-traffic, says increasing the availability of charging points helps to reduce pollution and “decarbonise” transport.
Electric vehicles (EV) are zero exhaust emission, but still release rubber and metal particulates from their tyres and brakes.
The Evening Standard’s Plug It In campaign aims to help clean up the capital’s air by getting more drivers to move away from petrol and diesel cars.
Hackney, which also wants to reduce levels of car ownership, has signed a contract with EV infrastructure firm Zest to install and operate 2,500 fast and slow chargers across the borough at no cost to the council.
The council, led by directly-elected Labour mayor Phil Glanville, is also set to agree a contract for up to 150 rapid chargers, which fully charge EVs in under an hour.
The charging points will use 100 per cent renewable energy, with a discounted rate available for Hackney residents.
Mr Glanville said: “Road transport accounts for 24 per cent of UK carbon emissions and is a significant contributor to air pollution, which is why we want to support people to switch to EVs or car clubs.
“I hope this ambitious plan for thousands of new charging points shows how local councils can be at the forefront of work to tackle climate change, lead innovation and help to pave the way for wider transport decarbonisation in the UK.”
The first of the new chargers will be installed towards the end of the year. A total of 1,500 slow chargers will be mounted on existing lampposts, while 1,000 fast chargers and 150 rapid chargers will be installed in existing parking bays, with each of these devices having connections for two vehicles. The rollout will be completed by 2026.
Westminster already has more than 40 “electric avenues” – streets with at least seven charging points in lampposts.
Paul Dimoldenberg, Westminster’s cabinet member for air quality, said: “We have more than doubled the on-street charging provision over the last year, with around 2,450 charge points across Westminster as of March 2023. We expect this to increase to at least 2,500 by April 2024.
“The council is now focused on increasing charger supply in areas where there is greatest demand to make it as easy as possible for residents to switch to an electric vehicle. We will also be improving the existing EV network by upgrading many of our 7kw chargers to 22kw and introducing contactless payment points.”
Across London, there are more than 11,500 charging points, according to the most recent Government figures.
In a separate initiative, Surrey County Council announced plans to add 10,000 more charging points in 1,500 locations by 2030, in a £60m partnership with Connected Kerb. Surrey said this was the largest ever rollout by a local authority.
It comes as Brent Cross shopping centre announced the installation of 58 charging points, making it one of the UK’s biggest charging facilities. An estimated 45 per cent of EV drivers are unable to charge at home and rely on public chargers.
