Cabinet to consider next steps in providing electric vehicle charging infrastructure
Cabinet will consider a report on the next exciting steps in providing electric vehicle charging infrastructure and the transition to low carbon transport at its meeting next week.
Following the adoption of the council’s Electric Chargepoint Implementation Plan, which outlines how the Royal Borough will bring forward hundreds more charging points for electric vehicles, Cabinet will consider the approach to procurement next week.
In addition, the council is also bidding for nearly £1million of capital funding from the Department for Transport which, if successful, would allow it to fast track the rollout of new chargepoint infrastructure as part of a public-private commercial partnership with chargepoint operating companies. A bid for this funding is being finalised and will be submitted soon.
The implementation plan helps to support the move to greener travel and ensure charging provision for electric vehicles keeps pace with demand.
Councillor Geoff Hill, cabinet member for highways and transport, said: “Cabinet will consider this report at our meeting next week, which is the next exciting step in how we can meet the growing need for charging infrastructure, so that EVs are a convenient and viable way to travel in the borough. In our borough, 33% of carbon emissions come from the vehicles on our roads and switching the way we power our cars and vans is vital.
“There are approximately 4,000 electric cars in the borough today, and this number is growing exponentially. By 2035, it is anticipated that there will be 50,000 electric cars in the borough. To meet this demand, the borough will need to have introduced approximately 600 on-street charging sockets and 125 charging sockets in council car parks across the borough. Increasingly, residents are expecting to find convenient electric vehicle charging infrastructure available in the borough that enables them to switch to and drive an EV with confidence sooner.”
The recommendation to Cabinet at its meeting on Wednesday 29 November is to note the report and that an invitation to tender and tender evaluation documents for the delivery, operation and maintenance of EV chargepoints are prepared for issue through the Oxford Dynamic Purchasing System, and included in a bid for government Local EV Infrastructure funding.
If approved, the decision is subject to the usual call-in period. The full report can be found here https://rbwm.moderngov.co.uk/documents/s48617/EV%20Chargepoint%20Procurement.pdf
