Electric vehicle charging points go live

The Borough Council’s contractor has now completed the installation of 24 EVCs in two public car parks thanks to grant funding from the Office for Low Emission Vehicles (OLEV).

The new charging points, which are located in Castle (Hill Street) and Lower Bond Street, Hinckley car parks, are part of the nationwide pod point network. Charging points will be available in Castle car park from next week and Lower Bond street car park by mid-April. Users simply download the Pod Point app to and follow the instructions to make payment. It will cost just 20p per kwh to charge vehicles.

The installation cost totalling £98,000 was funded with £70,000 funding secured from OLEV as part of the government’s commitment to increase the charging infrastructure for electric vehicles in readiness for the end of the sale of new petrol and diesel cars by 2030. The remaining cost was met from developer contributions.

Hinckley met the requirement for the funding due to the large areas of residential housing with no off street parking, which was a key requirement of OLEV along with a need for charging points for workers, shoppers and visitors to the town centre.

As part of the government funding, town centre residents living within a short walking distance of the car parks will be eligible for permits to enable them to park for free while charging at the points. The offer aims to make it easier for residents who may not have off street parking available at home to charge a vehicle nearby in a bid to make electric vehicles more appealing in the future.

The council has subsequently undertaken further surveys to deem the suitability of rural car parks in the borough and will now be applying for funding to install further charging points in rural and other town car parks in the future.

Leader of the Council, Cllr Stuart Bray said: “We are very pleased that we have been able to install electric vehicle charging points in Hinckley. This is just the first step on the council’s path towards delivering our new ‘greener’ agenda.

“In time, we hope this will encourage people to use electric vehicles as a more sustainable way to travel as part of a commitment to doing what we can to reduce greenhouse gases and climate change. Demand will only increase for these charge points and we are looking to introduce more on council car parks across the borough where we know residents will find it difficult to charge at home, and when more funding becomes available.”

Photo: Council Leader Cllr Stuart Bray at the Castle Car Park, Hinckley