Barnet to install 500 on-street EV chargers following government grant
Barnet Council is to commit £4.65 million for the installation of 500 on-street electric vehicle charge points by November 2022.
The Council, which currently has the second-highest rate of electric car ownership in London, received over £3.5m in grant funding from the Office of Zero Emissions Vehicles (OZEV) which will go towards installing the chargers on 34 of Barnet’s residential streets.
The £3.5m grant from the On-Street Residential Charge Point Scheme (ORCS) is the largest sum awarded to any Local Authority by the scheme to date and covers 75% of the expected project costs, the maximum available.
Cllr Cohen, Chairman of the Barnet Council Environment Committee, said: “As we approach 2030 – the government’s target of no new sales of petrol or diesel cars – demand for electric vehicles will continue to boom year on year. We welcome this major funding from the ORCS as it will allow us to greatly expand Barnet’s infrastructure for electric vehicle charge points and help ensure that lack of access to off-street parking is not a barrier to owning an electric vehicle for our residents.
“Enhanced access to on-street charging will help to encourage the uptake of electric vehicles, improve air quality in Barnet, and play a fundamental role in achieving the commitments in our forthcoming Sustainability Strategy.”
The ORCS funds local authorities to provide public charge points for residents who do not have access to off-street parking. The remaining 25% of costs will either be funded by the council, a commercial partner, or in a part-funding agreement, reaching a total project value of £4.65m.
The 34 streets have been selected based on resident request, suitability for installing on-street charge points and where off-street parking is not possible.
Transport Minister Trudy Harrison said: “Our multi-million-pound investment in Barnet’s EV infrastructure will make it as easy as possible for residents to charge their electric vehicles as we accelerate further towards our net zero ambitions in the wake of COP26.
“As electric cars continue to grow in popularity, I’m glad to see the council taking action at the scale that is needed, driving down emissions and cleaning up the air.”
