Norfolk County Council can confirm today that EB Charging has won the contract to install on street charging points for electric vehicles (EVs) in Norwich. The contract is to install, supply and operate 46 new charge points on 40 streets across Norwich and is a huge step in achieving what has been set out in the council’s Electric Vehicle and Local Transport Plan 4 strategies. Charge points (EVCPs) will be available to all members of the public, helping everyone access the charging infrastructure, which is crucial to the transition to electric vehicles, particularly for residents who do not have access to off-street parking – where they could otherwise charge their vehicles. Councillor Graham Plant, cabinet member for highways, infrastructure and transport, said; “Norfolk County Council is committed to a greener and cleaner future and we have a leading role to play in reducing our carbon footprint through cutting the dependence on motor transport that runs on fossil fuels. “We know from research that a lack of charging points is one of the top barriers to people making the transition to electric vehicle, and we hope that this programme will support more people in the Norwich area to make the change to electric. “This is a fantastic collaborative project which will allow us to make a huge improvement to infrastructure for our residents a minimal cost to the taxpayer thanks to EB Charging who will fully fund the installation and ongoing maintenance of the charge points, and UK Power Networks who have supported us from the start of this project to identify locations and ensured the electricity grid can support these new charge points.” Alex Calnan, Managing Director of EB Charging, commented; “We’re really excited to be working with Norfolk County Council on this ambitious project to dramatically increase the availability of EV charging options across Norwich. Working with UK Power Networks, they’ve ensured sufficient power supply for current and future charging needs, making switching to EVs a realistic option for residents, businesses and visitors. This will provide a real boost to the council’s programmes to improve air quality across Norwich and the wider region.” Ian Cameron, Director of Customer Service and Innovation at UK Power Networks said; “We’re making it easier for people to make the switch to an electric vehicle by helping Local Authorities to facilitate more public chargepoints that are accessible to all. We want people to have confidence they’ll be able to charge their vehicle, regardless of whether or not they have access to off-street parking and private charging.” Following feasibility studies carried out by UK Power Networks, 40 streets in Norwich have been identified as the preferred locations for the first chargers to be rolled out. Due to the nature of these streets some on-street parking restrictions next to the charge points will need to be reviewed, so electric vehicles can access them. These will be decided at design stage and any changes to parking restrictions will be subject to statutory consultation with residents. The chargers that are currently being proposed for the sites include floor-mounted 22kW fast chargers) – Alfen Twins and 50-100kW rapid chargers Delta Slimlines. These are both best suited to residential, on-street sites and can be seen in the attached pictures. Norfolk County Council will be working closely with EB Charging through the detailed design stage of the project and will engage with residents ensure the impact is minimal to those who live on the streets identified. In addition to statutory consultation a survey will go live shortly for residents to feedback on the identified locations as well as the opportunity for people to suggest other locations that they would like to see charge points installed across the county in the future.
