Electric vehicle charging points set to expand

There is just a day left for Parish and Town Councils to apply for funding for new electric vehicle charging points.

The funding has been secured by Kent County Council with chargers to be located on land owned by the community such as village hall car parks. The deadline for applying is October 16.

It is hoped the chargers will be used by residents and businesses that do not have off-street parking.

KCC Cabinet Member for Environment, Susan Carey said: “Providing more EV charge-points is one strand of the many actions KCC is taking to reach net-zero carbon emissions by 2050.

“We’re currently fitting 14 chargers for taxis and 14 for public use with our district and borough partners and these will be ready for use by the end of the year.

“We’re also working on a Kent-wide EV charger network which will provide around 300 new chargers.

“Since we asked our district and borough partners to express an interest, we’ve had over 150 car parks put forward for consideration.

“The chargers will be owned and operated by KCC for public use and it’s my hope that schemes like this will encourage more people make the switch to electric vehicles reducing carbon emissions, traffic noise and improving air quality.”

Providing electric vehicle charge-points across the county is a part of KCC’s strategic plan to achieve carbon neutrality in Kent by 2050, as set out in the Kent & Medway Energy and Low Emissions Strategy.

Kent County Council has set a 2030 target to reach net-zero carbon emissions for its own services and estate. KCC currently has 36 hybrid vans in use and by 2030, its fleet will be 100% electric.

In addition, Kent County Council recently announced that businesses in the county can apply to trial an electric vehicle for up to two months to see how the switch to electric could benefit their business and Kent’s environment.

Businesses interested in the scheme should email [email protected] Parish and Town Councils should visit jambusterstpms.co.uk and click the Parish EV Charge-Points link at the top of the page.

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