Staffordshire County Council is set to join forces with four other local authorities to enable more electric vehicle charging points to be installed across the Midlands.

The Department for Transport has allocated £4.6m to Staffordshire County Council to help the private sector to deliver public electric vehicle (EV) charging infrastructure, it was confirmed last week.

Two days later cabinet members agreed to accept the funding. They also heard about plans for the authority to join a consortium alongside Nottinghamshire County Council, Nottingham City Council, Derbyshire County Council and Derby City Council, with Midlands Connect providing advice and guidance on increasing the number of EV charging points available for public use.

Councillor David Williams, cabinet member for highways and transport, said: "While it is not the county council's role to install and maintain the charging network, as the highway authority and major land and asset owner – as well as our commitment to achieving net zero – we do have an important coordination and facilitation role. This funding will facilitate the private sector to improve accessibility of EV infrastructure for Staffordshire residents, and deliver our public Electric Vehicle Charging Infrastructure Strategy as approved by cabinet.

The Department for Transport has allocated £4.6m to Staffordshire County Council to help deliver the charging points (Nub News).

"I have agreed in principle to collaborate on a cross-local authority application through joining a local authority consortium led by Midlands Connect. It is anticipated that a consortium approach will lead to a greater scale of private sector investment, achieving greater value.

"Through engagement and collaboration with all district and borough councils to provide a consistent approach to EV rollout across Staffordshire, up to 70 off-street locations will be included alongside on-street charging locations where appropriate. In accepting the £4.6m allocation, an estimated £10m-£15m of match funding investment across Staffordshire could be delivered, helping to contribute towards achieving the goal of 5,140 electric vehicle charge point sockets by 2030."

Councillor Simon Tagg, cabinet member for environment, infrastructure and climate change, said: "All districts have signed up to be part of this strategy, helping to facilitate the roll-out of electric vehicles. I think districts and boroughs have a role in using their land and the off-street parking EV options are being pursued across each of the districts – at Newcastle Borough we agreed a cabinet item for our new Castle car park which will have up to 40 chargeable points on the ground floor."

When the county council's Electric Vehicle Charging Infrastructure Strategy was approved by cabinet members in January 2023, a report said Staffordshire needed 3,000 more charging points by 2030 but had just 300 as of October 2022. It added that 92,000 households in Staffordshire didn't have off-street parking and lived more than five minutes' walk away from a public electric vehicle charging point.

Cllr Simon Tagg said all districts have signed up to be part of the strategy (Image supplied).

Councillor Ian Parry, cabinet member for finance and resources, said at this month's cabinet meeting: "I think we notice, as we drive around the county and the country, how these things are starting to grow and the places you see them popping up – small retail parks and motorway service areas.

"But no-one's going to sell an electric car to me unless I'm convinced that I can get around efficiently and conveniently, and have sufficient charging points that will allow me to do that. The demand puts the onus on manufacturers of EV to ensure they're working to ensure that there's a charging infrastructure.

"We must be clear we're the public sector. We're here to facilitate, to ensure the public sector plays its part in providing opportunity to set up charging points, but not the responsibility for the lack of them, or the distribution, location or efficiency of them.

"These will be the new fuel stations of the future. And it is therefore those companies either involved in the provision of energy for cars, or the cars themselves, to ensure that they've got this covered."

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