Northumberland County Council has passed a motion to add 36 public electric vehicle charge points at 26 locations, expanding the council’s existing charging network.
Most of the new infrastructure—78 per cent—will be installed on land owned by the council. The remaining chargers will be placed on land owned by third parties under licensing agreements.
The project is being financed with just over £1 million in external funding from the City Region Sustainable Transport Settlement. Revenue generated by the chargers is being used to cover their running costs, management and maintenance. The funding will be used to roll out charge points until 2029.
An in-house EV team at the council will install and maintain the chargers. Cllr Richard Wearmouth, cabinet member with responsibility for transport, said it was good to see more investment in improving EV charging provision in Northumberland. He noted that the county has one of the largest road networks in the country and said it was vital to ensure the necessary facilities are available to help people get around.
The charge point expansion follows the recent introduction of 14 BYD BD11 battery-electric buses into service in the region. Northumberland is a coastal region in northeast England, bordering Scotland and known for Hadrian’s Wall and Northumberland National Park.