One thousand new public EV charge points are to be installed as part of a pilot scheme to improve provision for drivers without private parking.

A total of nine local authorities have been awarded nearly £20 million in funding through the Local EV Infrastructure (LEVI) scheme, which is meant to provide up to £450 million for infrastructure improvement.

The new infrastructure will consist of on-street single devices to multi-device filling station-like sites.

A home EV charger can be installed in 40% of households, where private parking is unavailable. Lack of access to charging is seen as a major barrier to EV adoption, because it is a barrier to getting people to adopt EVs.

The pilot programme is one of a number of initiatives aimed at improving charging options for drivers and expanding the country's charging network, which must grow rapidly to accommodate rising electric car usage.

Barnet, Dorset, Durham, Kent, the Midlands Connect consortium (Lincolnshire being the lead authority), North Yorkshire, Nottinghamshire, Suffolk, and Warrington councils will benefit from £10 million in Department for Transport funding and £9 million in private investment.

The scheme will operate alongside the On-Street Residential Chargepoint Scheme, which provides funding for councils to set up public chargepoints. The programme has been criticised recently after it was revealed that just 107 councils applied for funding and 2,900 chargepoints were installed five years after it began. About 10,000 more have been sanctioned but not yet installed, and the majority are in London boroughs.

AA president Edmund King, said: “It is essential that more on-street chargers are delivered to boost the transition to zero emission vehicles for those without home charging. This injection of an extra £20 million funding will help bring power to electric drivers across England from Durham to Dorset. This is one further positive step on the road to electrification.”

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