Plans for electric vehicle charging points in car parks accelerate

Six car parks across the District have been selected as part of the first phase of the Oxfordshire Park and Charge project delivered by a consortium of partners including West Oxfordshire District Council.

They will provide a total of 35 charging points capable of charging 70 vehicles. Installation work is expected to start in the spring with the project set for completion by the summer.

Cllr David Harvey, Cabinet Member for Climate Change at West Oxfordshire District Council, said: “Since declaring the Climate Emergency last year, we have been working incredibly fast to make positive changes to our environment and this is a major step forward.

“We know electric vehicle usage will accelerate quickly in the coming years and these charging points will help meet the needs of drivers in our town centres as they work, shop and visit, helping cut carbon emissions and improve air quality accordingly.

“It will also help residents who are unable to charge their vehicles outside their homes., providing them with off-street charging overnight.”

The move was approved by the Council’s Cabinet on 18 November.

The car parks set to install charging points are Woodford Way, Witney; Back Lane, Eynsham; Black Bourton Road, Carterton; Hensington Road, Woodstock and New Street, Chipping Norton.

The Council will also create five charging points at its offices in Woodgreen, Witney.

The £5.2m Oxfordshire Park and Charge project will be providing up to 280 fast charging points across the County in 2021, helping to facilitate greener modes of travel making it easier for local residents, visitors and commuters to own an electric vehicle.

Around £3.4m is provided by a grant from Innovate UK, with the remainder coming from investment from commercial partners, meaning the charging hubs come at no cost to the councils involved.

Electric vehicle ownership is growing faster in Oxfordshire than anywhere else in the UK, with the University of Oxford predicting approximately 25,000 Battery Electric Vehicles (BEV) on Oxfordshire’s roads by 2025 compared to the 1,892 BEV recorded on the roads today. Of the total number of BEV recorded in Oxfordshire in 2019, 12 per cent are recorded as owned in West Oxfordshire.  

For more information and a list of Q&As, see: https://www.westoxon.gov.uk/EVchargingPoints or the project’s dedicated website: www.parkandchargeoxfordshire.co.uk