DfT publishes uneven UK ‘league table’ for EV chargepoints

The Department for Transport (DfT) has published a local authority ‘league table’ for EV chargepoints, that reveals 100 councils have fewer than 10 public charging points per 100,000 people.

Nationally, London leads the way with almost 4,000 places for members of the public to charge their EV. Scotland also fares well, with over 1,500 points. Most of Scotland is also in the top 20% for areas best served by EV charge points.

Glasgow, Manchester and Liverpool city councils were praised for being the best performing councils when it comes to installing EV infrastructure.

Barrow-in-Furness in Cumbria, one of the most deprived areas of the country, has no EV chargepoints. Rugby has 3 and Hartlepool has 6.

The DfT has urged councils and EV drivers to apply for the various funding schemes they have available, including the on-street residential chargepoint scheme, workplace charging scheme and the electric vehicle homecharge scheme.

St Mary’s in the Isles of Scilly, which has no EV chargepoints.

However, the Local Government Association (LGA) said the government must spend more and make EV infrastructure funding more of a priority.

Charging device location data for the ‘league table’ is sourced from the electric vehicle charging platform Zap-Map and is available to view here.

Transport Secretary Grant Shapps said: ‘It’s good news there are now more charging locations than petrol stations, but the clear gaps in provision are disappointing. I urge local councils to take advantage of all the government support on offer to help ensure drivers in their area don’t miss out.

‘To help increase the provision of charging locations, the government is offering grants for the installation of chargepoints on the street, in work and at home. We are also offering grants to lower the upfront cost of these cars so everyone is able to experience the benefits.’

Cllr Darren Rodwell, environment spokesman for the LGA said: ‘Councils are determined to do more to improve air quality and reduce carbon emissions but a lack of long-term funding is a clear barrier to such investment. The next government needs to address this at the earliest opportunity.’