More electric vehicle charging points on the way for Telford and Wrekin car parks as 'lamppost power' considered
A council is in the process of agreeing contracts to install electric vehicle charging points in car parks as it seeks to amp up the number of chargers available to local residents.
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It is part of a Telford & Wrekin Council bid to remove a sticking point for owners of electric vehicles who do not have access to their own charging points at home.
One other possibility being looked into by the council is allowing people to legally hook up to lampposts on the street, which already have an available power supply.
Councillor Carolyn Healy (Labour, Ironbridge Gorge) is the council’s cabinet member for neighbourhoods, planning and sustainability. She spoke at a recent meeting of the council’s audit committee which was looking at progress towards the authority becoming carbon neutral.
Councillor Healy told the meeting that the difficulty with power from lampposts is that cables have to cross public land, but that the issue is being examined. The council does not yet have a policy stance on this, she added.
After the meeting, a spokesperson for the council said: “Telford & Wrekin Council is part of a consortium of local authorities working with the Midlands Connect on the ‘local electric vehicle infrastructure fund’ – or LEVI – for the installation of on-street charging.
“While the exact infrastructure is yet to be determined – lighting columns offer the potential for on-street charging.”
The committee report said that the council has been awarded an indicative amount of £1,020,000 from LEVI. It has joined the Midlands Connect consortium with other councils to pool grant funding in order to maximise the number of on-street charge points.
It is anticipated the first on-street EV charge points would be installed from this year and then rolled out over a four-year period to 2029.
The spokesperson also referred to the ‘on-street residential charge point' scheme (ORCS) which is focused on delivering electric vehicle charge points in council-owned car parks.

“We are currently in the process of confirming installation dates, upon the completion of legal contracts being confirmed and agreed by all parties,” they said.
The report revealed that the council has now appointed an EV charge point operator who will deliver the ORCS funded charge points but will also fully fund additional EV charge points in all council car parks.
“Potentially a further 41 dual EV charge points could be installed,” the report stated.
“Overall, this project could see an additional 111 EV charge points (222 sockets) installed over the next 18-24 months.”