Blue badge holders to get pavement EV charging points

A pilot project will allow Brighton's blue badge holders and taxi drivers to create pavement gullies next to their homes to charge their electric cars.

Brighton & Hove City Council cabinet backed the trial, working with the charity Motability, as part of a raft of measures to expand electric vehicle (EV) charging across the city.

The authority hopes it will make up for most homes in the city not having access to a driveway, reports the Local Democracy Reporting Service.

The scheme will be financed through £232,000 available from the Department for Transport through its EV Pavement Channel Grant to cover 193 gullies.

Trevor Muten, cabinet member for transport and city infrastructure, said: "Around two-thirds of households have no access to off-street parking, which means that without public charging, the transition to EVs simply would not be fair or practical.

"We need to build infrastructure that removes this barrier and enables this choice."

A report to the cabinet said there were 4,857 fully electric cars in the city, more than four per cent of all vehicles, and by 2040, EV ownership is projected to reach 82,000 vehicles.

There are currently 501 public charge points in the city with a further 1,650 to be installed in lamp posts in the next three years.

By 2040, the council aims to have 6,000 lamp post-based chargers installed.

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