30 June 2024 , 13:05
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London has more electric vehicle charging points than Scotland, the North-East, West Midlands and South-West combined, research has found.
Analysis by the think tank Common Wealth found there are there are more public charge points in Westminster Council alone (2,693) than in Birmingham (550), Manchester (348), Leeds (527), Bradford (214), Glasgow City (439), Southampton (110), Portsmouth (113) and Newcastle upon Tyne (204) combined — eight of the largest cities outside London.
Researchers say the figures show the market-led rollout of charging points is leading to regional inequalities - and this risks slowing down the transition to electric vehicles.
And they noted Scotland, which has built a network of rapid and fast chargepoints - and a result, Scotland has the highest number of rapid chargepoints relative to its population than any other nation or region of the UK.
Common Wealth calculate that only two thirds (66.2%) of councils accessed the on-street residential chargepoint scheme (ORCS) grant, and only 49 councils out of 317 have accessed the local electric vehicle infrastructure fund (LEVI) fund to date.
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The group has called on the next government to create a new public company - "Great British Charging Points" - to invest in underserved regions and ensure communities get the service they deserve.
Sophie Flinders, Data Analyst at Common Wealth, said: “The shocking inequality in access to charging infrastructure is holding back the EV revolution. The fact that Westminster has more than eight of the UK's largest cities combined is a clear failure of the current, market-led approach. If we are serious about the transition, we need public action to build charging infrastructure in underserved areas of the UK.”