Bids for network of electric car charging points

New charging points for electric cars could be installed at key sites in the city. Plymouth City Council has submitted a bid for £142,500 of government funding* for the facilities that would be set up on land owned by public sector organisations.

The funding would cover up to 75 per cent of the purchase and installation costs. The bid has been developed in partnership with Amey PLC, Devonport Dockyard and Naval Base, Plymouth Hospitals NHS Trust, Plymouth Community Healthcare and City College Plymouth.

The public sector bid aims to install fast charging facilities that can fully charge a car in two to three hours at 16 sites including the city centre car parks, the park and ride sites, Derriford Hospital, Mount Gould and Cumberland health care centres, the Plymouth Life Centre, City College Plymouth and the Dockyard/Naval Base.

Councillor Mark Coker, Cabinet Member for Transport, said: “We are committed to reducing carbon emissions and increasing the number of electric cars on our roads is part of our Cleaner Vehicles Strategy. To do that, we obviously need charging points so it’s feasible for people to use their electric cars to get around the city and travel further afield.”

Plymouth Community Healthcare Director of Finance, Dan O’Toole added: “Plymouth Community Healthcare is committed to reduce its carbon footprint and has already undertaken a number of ambitious schemes to do so, including the installation of photovoltaic cells at a number of its sites. PCH has now committed to undertake this exciting development to work alongside its transportation plan to further reduce its level of CO2 emissions.”

Head of Estates at City College Plymouth, Gilbert Snook said: “The College is continually looking at initiatives to become more sustainable and reduce our impact on the environment. We are therefore keen to support the Council with this exciting funding opportunity in order to install the infrastructure required to make progress with sustainable travel in the city.”

Andrew Davies, Sustainability and Environment Service, Plymouth Hospitals NHS Trust, added: “The Trust is working hard to reduce the impact on the local environment in particular by reducing the carbon emissions generated as a result of the provision of healthcare. Our commitment is demonstrated through our Carbon Trust Carbon Management Plan which offers different ways to reduce the hospitals carbon emissions.

“We also recognise the importance of working in partnership with local organisations and the community to jointly pursue ways in which we can continue to reduce Plymouth’s overall carbon emissions and improve its environment. This project demonstrates what can be achieved by working closely with others to achieve a common goal.”

For more details of the Plymouth Public Sector ChargePoint Scheme bid visit www.plymouth.gov.uk/cvs.

The Council is also a partner to Cornwall Council's outline bid, pulled together by its Green Cornwall team, to provide rapid charge facilities across the south west. Rapid chargers are able to fully charge a car in 25 minutes and are being installed across the UK so people are able to travel longer distances by plug-in and electric vehicles.

The bid proposes 29 sites across Cornwall, Devon, Dorset and Somerset providing rapid charge facilities on all of the major roads and will ensure the region is fully connected to the rest of the UK for electric vehicle use. Cornwall Council has also submitted an additional bid for a public sector charge network.

Mark Holmes from the Green Cornwall team said: “As part of our bid to ensure that the south west was properly connected to the main national electric vehicle infrastructure network, it was vital that authorities such as Cornwall Council and Plymouth City Council worked together and showed leadership to ensure that we ended up with the most powerful, and strategically relevant, proposal possible.”

*The Office for Low Emission Vehicles (OLEV) announced in February 2013 the availability of grant funding for the purchase and installation of charging facilities for electric vehicles and is aimed at providing charge points on public sector estates, at railway stations, on street and at key locations adjacent to motorways and other strategic roads to encourage long distance travel by plug-in and electric vehicles.