Lincolnshire drivers to benefit from £3.8 million EV chargepoint boost

A partnership led by Lincolnshire County Council and Midlands Connect submitted a joint bid for £935,355 Government funding in June which will see an extra 101 standard and eight rapid charging points installed across Lincolnshire, with the locations for the extra charging points are targeted towards areas with low amount of off-street parking.

This now brings the total to 322 standard and 27 rapid EV charging points across the Midlands.

Lincolnshire County Council has led a successful bid for almost £1million of funding aimed at getting more electric vehicle chargers into areas with limited off-street parking.

The partnership is made up of five local authorities across the Midlands region – Lincolnshire County Council, Herefordshire Council, Leicestershire County Council, Rutland County Council, and Stoke-on-Trent City Council – alongside Sub-National Transport Body Midlands Connect, and the £935,355 is to be distributed between the five councils.

It is expected that this support from Government will now attract an additional £2.8million of private sector investment.

Analysis by Midlands Connect found that Lincolnshire needs 1,404 new public EV charging points by the end of 2025 to meet the needs of the growing EV market and it’s hoped that this latest good-news around the Government funding will spur on more region-wide installation of charging points.

At present, 93 percent of electric vehicle owners have access to off-road parking and it’s hoped that increasing the number of public charging stations will make it easier for those without a driveway to make the switch to an electric vehicle.

Coun Martin Hill, leader of Lincolnshire County Council, said: “this is another success on the road to our future targets for Electric Vehicle use in Lincolnshire.

“As a county, we are keen to make greener choices and we know that many Lincolnshire residents and businesses have already, or are planning to, make the switch to an electric vehicle well ahead of the ban on new diesel and petrol car sales in 2030.

“This successful bid means that we can install more charging points in various locations and is another part of our greener journey for the future.

“We live in a very large county. It’s because of these longer distances faced by Lincolnshire residents and businesses as part of their daily lives that it is very important we have a comprehensive network of public charging points to instil confidence in longer journeys with electric vehicles.

“The success of this bid for funding will have a very positive effect and hopefully encourage further growth in the sector.”

The pilot is backed by £10 million of government funding and will see Lincolnshire County Council awarded £1m local authorities in the first tranche of the planned £450 million scheme, supported by £2.8m of funding from industry.

Maria Machancoses, CEO of Midlands Connect, added: “We are delighted that our bid for over 300 charge points to five Local Authorities across the Midlands has been successful.

“This is a vital next step in our efforts to improve electric vehicle charging infrastructure across the region ahead of the ban of diesel and petrol vehicles in 2030. This funding will improve the lives of those living within the Midlands, particularly for those who do not have access to off-street parking and may struggle to charge their vehicle otherwise.”

“We recently published an EV planning tool to help our Local Authorities better choose charge point locations across the region – this tool along with successful funding is a huge uplift for the whole region.”