Up to 160 electric vehicle charge points are set to be provided in Middlesbrough to support residents without private driveways.
The 24-hour charging points are planned for 90 locations across the Linthorpe, Newport, Ayresome and university areas of Middlesbrough, being installed on existing lamp columns or new bollards. They would be supplied by Ubitricity which is owned by Shell and has installed more than 6,500 on-street chargers.
The scheme would come at no cost to Middlesbrough Council as funding of £125,750 has been secured from the Government’s On-Street Residential Chargepoint Scheme with Ubitricity providing the remaining £83,333 needed for the project. As part of the 15-year agreement, the council would receive five per cent of fees generated.
A report by Cllr Peter Gavignan, the council’s Executive member for environment, and Geoff Field, the director of environment and commercial services, recommended the scheme be approved by the council’s Executive at a meeting on Tuesday. The report noted that many people have switched to electric vehicles but infrastructure does not fully support this transition.
“Many residential properties have off-street parking opportunities; allowing a vehicle to be charged on privately owned land through dedicated charging facilities,” said the report. “However, access to private driveways is limited across some areas of the borough, such as terraced house streets.
“Research has shown that lack of convenient charging options for those that park on the street is a major barrier to EV uptake. Ensuring residents are not disadvantaged because of this is a priority for the council.”
If the plans are accepted, the charging infrastructure will be located on residential streets with either no restrictions for parking, which are accessible to anyone to use, or in residential parking permit areas. Residents will be able to pay via a QR code.
