More drivers to power up electric vehicles in Newark and Sherwood

MORE drivers in Newark and Sherwood will be able to power up their electric vehicles in council car parks, after a national grant has enabled eight new charge points to be installed.

Newark and Sherwood District Council has been awarded £51,000 from the Government’s On-Street Residential Chargepoint Scheme, which was launched to boost the number of electric vehicle chargepoints in towns and cities across the UK.

Local authorities were invited to submit applications for the scheme, to increase the availability of charging points in residential streets, built up areas and town centre car parks, to help prepare and support for the transition towards zero emission vehicles.

While the fund is primarily designed for the installation of chargepoints in built-up areas with on-street parking, in areas such as Newark where there is little on-street parking, funding can be used by councils to install chargepoints in town centre car parks.

As well as the seven chargepoints already in place at District Council car parks in Newark, the additional facilities are being installed as part of the move toward greener transport, helping to improve air quality in the quest to cut back on fossil fuels. 

Due to be installed before the end of April this year, four new chargepoints are being installed at the District Council’s car park on London Road, Newark as well as four at Southwell Town Council’s Bramley Centre car park.

The chargepoints will be installed by BP Chargemaster – another partner in the project – which is contributing £16,976 to the scheme.

Councillor Roger Jackson, Chair of Leisure and Environment Committee at Newark and Sherwood District Council, said: “Electric vehicles are becoming more and more popular and we want to do all we can to enable our residents to use them by making charging points available.

“As part of our Climate Emergency Strategy, we installed seven rapid charge points in December 2019, in three of the district council’s car parks – four at Riverside, one at Appletongate and two at Castle House in Newark. Providing electric car charging points is a vital part of our aim to promote greener transport solutions and make the district cleaner, safer and greener.

“The new chargepoints is a hugely positive step in helping us be at the forefront of low and zero emission vehicle use, delivering cleaner air for the district.”

At present, ‘fastcharging’  chargepoints can be found at the Riverside car park in Newark and can power up most vehicles in as little as three hours while the ‘ultracharge’ one at Appletongate provides up to 80 per cent power within 30 minutes.

Additional ‘fastcharging’ facilties are also in place at the Castle House car park although this is temporarily out of use as the site is currently being used for a Covid testing venue.

Customers access the equipment through a smart card or mobile app.  

Car parking charges will apply between 8:00 and 18:00 but local residents will be able to take advantage of chargepoints from 18:00 and 08:00 without incurring parking charges.