Shaun Quirk, Chief Operating Officer at Charge point operator Believ, explains why the UK’s electric vehicle (EV) charge point rollout has stalled and, just ahead of the General Election, how he hopes the next Government can support local authorities to scale up delivery.
Our latest local authority insight report, ‘Driving the Future of the UK’s Electric Vehicle (EV) charging infrastructure’ asked 100 councils across the country about their EV charge point installation ambitions, progress and challenges.
In 2022, a fifth (20%) of councils said they hoped to have local EV charging infrastructure rolled out within 12 months and almost three-quarters (72%) within three years. Eighteen months on, the latest survey found no council had fully implemented plans, and only 13% expect to do so any time soon.
The decision to move the 2030 deadline to ban the sale of new petrol and diesel cars back to 2035 risks adding greater uncertainty and further delay to the switch to EVs. In our opinion, it is important that we revert back to the 2030 ban, and continue to send a strong message that we as a country are serious about, and committed to, our net zero ambitions. Going back to the original deadline will prevent future uncertainty and prevarication, and signal renewed urgency in rolling our essential infrastructure.
The report also shows that, at the time of the survey, less than one in five (18%) local authorities had a dedicated EV infrastructure team. Most relied on part time staff, and some 6% had no one working on EV infrastructure at all. Whilst this has since improved, aided by Local Electric Vehicle Infrastructure (LEVI) funding, many positions remain unfilled.
Without dedicated people and teams, it is no wonder progress can be slow. We see instances where a local authority’s representative can’t make a monthly meeting, and so activity is completely halted until the following month.
We also need to ensure that infrastructure funding is better targeted to the areas least likely to attract private investment – i.e. remote and rural areas where the commercial case is not viable. If these areas are ignored, whole communities will be left behind in the electric switch. Better targeted funding will help ensure accessibility of EV charging infrastructure for all.
It’s also true that many people in local authorities working on EV charging projects don’t fully understand the landscape – through no fault of their own. Installing EV charging infrastructure requires knowledge of various planning laws, access to the national grid and resident consultations – and that’s just the start. Ultimately, it is characterised by a mountain of red tape and a diverse set of procurement routes.
It means that different councils can sometimes have very different strategies as to how they approach EV charging: some might go through months and months of resident consultations, for example; while others simple advertise their intentions, and forge ahead. Such inconsistency is not always helpful.
While we need to appreciate a one-size-fits-all approach wouldn’t work for the UK’s diverse mix of local authorities, we do need central Government to take the lead on guidance and best practice. Templates for what works best for rural and urban local authorities, for example, could significantly speed up the rollout and alleviate some of the pressures on time and responsibility felt by councils.
Absolutely critical is that we better inform local authorities that they don’t have to do it all themselves. Working with the right CPO will enable much of the responsibility to be outsourced.
For example, we have experienced teams in place to handle every stage of the planning and logistics involved in getting charge points in the ground. Those teams cover project, town, and transport planning, as well as build, technical, network operations and consumer experience. We also use a proprietary data tool to provide geographic mapping to plot charge point demand. A fully funded offering provides access to all this experience at no cost to the council, or the public purse.
Too many local authorities believe Government funding is the only option, when the reality is the private industry is ready and willing to fund all local authority installation requirements – and remove installation headaches while doing so. Overcoming the challenges we face in the UK’s EV infrastructure rollout is most certainly achievable; we just need to pull together with the required level of urgency to do so.
