News

The rollout of more Electric Vehicle Charging Points (EVCPs) across Dacorum has begun after more than £400,000 of Government funding was secured earlier this year.

We were awarded £415,360 by the Office for Zero Emission Vehicles (OZEV), with support of the Energy Saving Trust, for additional charging points to be fitted in our public car parks for those people with plug-in electric vehicles.

Work is now ongoing to install the first EVCP sites in the Forge car park, Tring, and High Street car park, Hemel Hempstead. It's expected that the charging points will be ready for customers to use in October. Installation of EVCPs at a number of other sites in the borough will also be starting soon, and information will be released on when these will be available as the designs are finalised and works are scheduled.

The following public car park locations are included in the current programme:

Hemel Hempstead

• Wood Lane End car park
• Alexandra Road car park
• Queensway car park
• Park Road
• Bellgate neighbourhood centre
• The Queen’s Square neighbourhood centre
• Durrants Hill car park
• Leverstock Green village shops
• Water Gardens
• Cowper Road
• The Gables car park
• Henry Wells Square
• Bennetts End neighbourhood centre
  

Berkhamsted

• St John’s Well Lane car park

Tring

• Frogmore Street (East) car park

Kings Langley

• Langley Hill car park

Markyate

• Hicks Road car park

Once all of the new EVCPs are in place as part of the installation programme, Dacorum will become the borough or district with the highest number of these in Hertfordshire, and will also move into the top 20 per cent nationally. We are working towards making Dacorum net-zero by 2050 at the latest.

The OZEV initiative gives local authorities access to funding that can be used to partly cover the installation of EV charge point infrastructure to support the move towards zero-emission vehicles.

The OZEV funding covers 60 per cent of the cost of providing 104 fast-charge points across 18 car parks, with the remaining 40 per cent being provided by Connected Kerb, one of the UK’s leading providers of EV charging infrastructure solutions. We are working with Connected Kerb and its rapid-charging partner Osprey Charging Network on this project, with around £2.7 million of both public and private investment being made in EVCPs in Dacorum. Osprey Charging Network will fund the installation and maintenance of rapid-charge points.

We are also working closely with Hertfordshire County Council, which has recently been awarded Tier 1 funding under the Local Electric Vehicle Infrastructure (LEVI) scheme. 

This funding will help to address the rising demand for on-street charge points across Hertfordshire, and we'll be working with the County Council to identify suitable locations where residents do not have access to off-street parking. 

Cllr Sally Symington, our Portfolio Holder for Corporate and Commercial Services, said: “It’s fantastic to see these new electric vehicle charging points starting to be installed as it is a clear sign that, in Dacorum, we are fully supporting and preparing for the transition towards electric vehicles.

“Working to deliver net-zero carbon is among our corporate priorities, so the new charging points are a vital part of our Climate and Ecological Emergency strategy.”

Chris Pateman-Jones, CEO of Connected Kerb, said: “Making EV charging inclusive, reliable and convenient for everyone is essential to achieving a full electric transition. For Dacorum’s residents and visitors, this project will offer a fantastic opportunity to speed up efforts to bring zero-emissions vehicles to the area and ensure local air quality is cleaner for generations to come."

Read more about our Electric Vehicle Strategy. Visit the Zap-Map website to find your nearest charging point.

Photo credit: Andy Hughes