Calls have been made for the Tees Valley mayor in invest more heavily in electric vehicle charging infrastructure after it emerged no new points were installed in Darlington and Teesside last year.

Across the UK, just 42 public electric vehicle (EV) charge points were installed by the UK’s nine metro mayors using a £250m annual investment fund.

Of these 29 were in the east of England and 13 were in Manchester, with the other seven regions covered with metro mayors - including Tees Valley - failing to install any.

Tees Valley Mayor Ben Houchen said drivers in the area had been underserved with EV charging points “for too long” – but added a £2m agreement to boost the number was agreed in December 2021.

Read more: The security concern that meant a North East bus station was evacuated over the weekend

That investment is aimed at increasing the number of EV chargers by 75 per cent to 336.

There are currently 191 in Darlington and Teesside.

EV leasing company Novuna Vehicle Solutions submitted freedom of information (FOI) requests to the offices the UK’s nine Metro Mayors, requesting details of how many public and private charge points each had installed in 2021, and how many were funded by the capital investment fund. The responses revealed that a total of 98 charge points were installed by four authorities last year, of which only 42 were explicitly made available for public use.

Novuna managing director Jon Lawes said: “The metro mayor position was created with a clear mandate to boost the economic development of the UK’s biggest city regions, and investment in infrastructure is a vital piece of that puzzle. Without a critical mass of publicly available EV charge points, the UK will remain shackled to petrol and diesel well beyond our collective 2030 goal.

“We need to pivot from planning mode and start putting shovels in the ground. The money is available, what’s required now is the political muscle to deliver critical infrastructure, especially for the 40 per cent of households that can’t install a private charger.

"With a quarter of all new sales now being battery powered, the last thing we want is this exponential growth in drivers making the transition to EV’s to be compromised because our local authorities have taken their eye off the ball.”

Read more: Husband accused of attempted murder after beating wife with stick

Novuna says each mayor has a share of £7.45bn capital investment fund over a 30 year period, equating to £250m for each calendar year - of which Tees Valley gets £15m - which could be used to fund the infrastructure.

Tees Valley Combined Authority says the £15m is being used to fund "key priorities" as set out in its ten-year investment plan. Transport infrastructure priorities include securing an additional crossing of the River Tees, improving east-west road connectivity along the A66, securing an upgrade of the rail line from Northallerton to Middlesbrough and implementing the Darlington HS2 Growth Hub.

The Northern Echo: Image by Paul Brennan from Pixabay Image by Paul Brennan from Pixabay

Mr Houchen said: “For too long drivers across Teesside, Darlington and Hartlepool have been underserved by electric vehicle charging points, with the ones that are available frequently hard to get to or broken. This infrastructure is not fit for purpose which is why we’re using £2.7million to boost public EV charging point numbers by 75 per cent and transform the network.

“The first new EV charging points are being installed as we speak and will soon be operational, giving the people who own electric cars the reliable, accessible infrastructure they deserve. This is just the start in making it even more attractive to pick up an electric vehicle and help the region’s – and UK’s – drive to net zero.”

The mayor and Tees Valley Combined Authority are in the process of developing a plan and investment strategy to increase provision in coming years.

In April, the Government’s Office for Zero Emission Vehicles awarded £720,000 to help support the creation of public charging points to support residents without off-street parking.

Read more: Relief for Darlington scrap company after tax case dismissed

This additional funding will allow for a greater number of chargers in selected car parks.

EB Charging Ltd has been procured to supply, operate and maintain the points.

 

Keep up to date with all the latest news on our website, or follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.

You can also follow our dedicated Teesside Facebook page for all the latest in the area by clicking here.

For all the top news updates from right across the region straight to your inbox, sign up to our newsletter here.

Have you got a story for us? Contact our newsdesk on newsdesk@nne.co.uk or contact 01325 505054