Electric vehicle charging points Photo: FHDC
A further 94 electric vehicle (EV) charging points are to be installed in district car parks as part of the council’s pledge to drive down its carbon footprint.
Folkestone and Hythe District Council has partnered with Kent County Council and other local authorities for the roll out, which will see one of the largest networks of consistent charging points.
F&HDC’s six existing off-street charging points will be replaced and all will be installed by Connected Kerb, one of the UK’s biggest charging point providers. A total of 23 charging points provided by commercial businesses are already in place.
There will be a minimum of four EV charging points in at least 25 of the district’s 27 car parks but unfortunately, some car parks are not suitable. There is to be a mixture of fast 7Kwh, 22kw and rapid 50Kwh, depending on the location but installation work will not start until early next year.
A total of 600 points will be installed across the county over the next two years, with districts applying for 75 per cent funding through KCC and Connected Kerb funding the remaining 25 per cent.
Cllr Lesley Whybrow, F&HDC Cabinet Member for the Environment, said: “I am delighted that we will be able to increase the number of EV charging points in our district and I hope that this will give people the confidence to consider changing over to an electric vehicle.”
Cllr Ray Field, Cabinet Member for Transport and Digital Transformation, said for people who have to use cars, making EV charging accessible was a priority: “Knowing that you will be able to arrive at virtually any car park in the district, at any time, in any vehicle and easily charge your battery is the way forward for us all.”
Chris Pateman-Jones, CEO of Connected Kerb, praised “forward-thinking” Folkestone and Hythe District Council, the other district authorities and Kent County Council for joining forces on the project, which he said: “Provides a blueprint for other local authorities across the UK to do the same.”