Up to 126 local councils across the UK have no plans to install any electric car charging in the next four years
Local councils are planning to install 9,317 on-street public electric car chargers between now and 2025 – an average of just 35 per council – despite a ban on the sale of new conventional petrol and diesel cars from 2030.
There are a mere 7,682 public on-street chargers currently installed in the UK, leaving drivers with no access to off-street parking concerned about how they would charge an electric car at home.
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Best electric cars to buy 2021126 councils out of over 400 that received a Freedom of Information request from Centrica have no plans to install any on-street EV chargers between now and 2025.
There’s also a significant disparity between regions, with local authorities in the south of England planning to install 2.5 times more on-street chargers than councils in Northern England, the Midlands, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland combined.
Westminster plans to install more on-street chargers per 100,000 residents by 2025 than any other council, followed by Kent and Stirling.
Top 10 councils | Chargers per 100,000 people to be installed by 2025 | Existing on street chargers |
| Westminster | 500.2 | 497 |
| Kent | 240.3 | 201 |
| Stirling | 156 | 56 |
| Plymouth | 122.1 | 33 |
| Haringey | 111.7 | N/A |
| York | 97.8 | 23 |
| Gwynedd | 80.3 | N/A |
| Richmond upon Thames | 70.7 | 227 |
| Hackney | 65.8 | 116 |
| Brent | 64 | 149 |
Centrica also polled 2,000 UK drivers, with 83 per cent saying it would be easier for drivers with access to off-street parking to switch to an electric car. Of those who said they would not consider purchasing an EV, 49 per cent blamed a lack of public charging points in their area.
77 and 76 per cent said that investment in on-street chargers in urban and rural areas respectively would help encourage more drivers to go electric.
The Department for Transport previously announced that £10 million would be up for grabs for councils in 2021 – enough to fund the installation of 3,600 on-street chargers. Councils across the UK received 2,835 requests to install on-street chargers in 2019 and received a further 2,989 in the first eight months of 2020.
Amanda Stretton, sustainable transport editor at Centrica, commented: “Whilst it’s great news that the Government is providing initiatives to make the transition more affordable, cost isn’t the only barrier.
“With half of drivers attributing lack of chargers as the main reason preventing them from purchasing an EV, it’s unfair that those without a driveway risk getting left behind. Charging infrastructure and energy systems will need to be upgraded to cope with the demand and support drivers.”
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