The roll-out of hundreds of electric vehicle (EV) charging points in council-owned car parks in Oxfordshire has begun.
Published: Tuesday, 23rd November 2021
Following the installation of the first park and charge EV hub at Bicester’s Cattle Market car park in May, the locations of the remaining 19 sites have been announced. Work started earlier this month and is due to be completed by March 2022.
The park and charge scheme allows residents without off-street parking to park for free overnight and charge up using a ‘fast’ 7 - 22kw EV charging point. The chargers will also provide much needed battery top-ups to commuters and visitors during the daytime.
The project is being delivered by a consortium of partners including Oxfordshire County Council, University of Oxford, Urban Integrated UK, and Bicester firm Zeta Lighting which is running the EV charging service under the trading name EZ-Charge. Cherwell, West Oxfordshire, South Oxfordshire and the Vale of White Horse District Councils are also supporting the scheme and hosting the EV charging hubs.
Councillor Dan Sames, Cherwell District Council’s Lead Member for Clean and Green, said: “The pioneering electric vehicle charging project has exceeded expectations and usage continues to grow. We are delighted to be able to expand the project and create more charging hubs within Cherwell. The added bonus is that we are using home grown technology developed by a Bicester-based company.”
The locations set to benefit from park and charge hubs, each containing between 10 and 16 EV charging points, are:
- Claremont car park, Bicester
- Curtis Place car park, Kidlington
- Windsor Street and Calthorpe Street West car parks in Banbury
- Woodford Way car park in Witney
- Black Bourton car park in Carterton
- Hensington Road car park, Woodstock
- Back Lane car park, Eynsham
- New Street car park, Chipping Norton
- Cattlemarket and Goldsmiths Lane car parks in Wallingford
- Kings Road and Greys Road car parks in Henley
- Southern Road car park, Thame
- West St Helens, Audlett Drive and Cattle Market car parks in Abingdon
- Portway car park in Wantage
- Southampton Road car park in Faringdon.
It is predicted that by 2030, one in five cars on Oxfordshire’s roads will be an EV, according to data modelling by the University of Oxford.
The £5.4 million programme is among the first of its kind in the UK and is being funded by the Office for Zero Emissions Vehicles through Innovate UK and the government’s On-Street Residential Charging Scheme.
More details about the scheme are available on the Park and Charge website.