Warwickshire council agrees long-term EV strategy

Warwickshire county council has formally agreed an Electric Vehicle Charging Infrastructure Strategy through to 2026, which it claims will support the up-take of low emission vehicles within the county.

The strategy, approved by cabinet, has been drawn up to enable the county to deliver infrastructure to meet increased demand for a network of public access Electric Vehicle points in the future.

Coventry has been described as a “globally renowned as a hotspot for low-emission vehicle excellence” by Warwickshire county council

According to the authority, the Coventry and Warwickshire region is “globally renowned as a hotspot for low-emission vehicle excellence”. The London Electric Vehicle Company recently opened a £300 million facility to produce its range extended black taxi in the region.

The strategy is designed to provide the infrastructure necessary to enable residents, businesses and communities to regularly use electric vehicles confident that they will be able to recharge their vehicles quickly and conveniently.

Air quality

This will also help to address local air quality issues caused by emissions from petrol and diesel vehicles, the council claims, and is in line with the government’s plan to ban the sale of new diesel and petrol-only vehicles from 2040.

Objectives in the strategy include supporting an integrated network of EV charge points, requiring private developers and landowners to provide EV charging, working with charge-point providers to trial new technologies such as on-street lamppost charging and in-town rapid-charging hubs.

Warwickshire County Council portfolio holder for Transport & Environment Jeff Clarke said: “It is vitally important that we have this long-term strategy in place. Warwickshire has a proud history of being at the forefront of the low-emission vehicle industry and this strategy will ensure that we remain there.

“It will support our industries in this sector while delivering huge environmental benefits. There are a lot of exciting times ahead in this sector with technology evolving all the time and that means there is a lot of work still do. This strategy will help us deliver real benefits for Warwickshire.”