Tees Valley welcomes £2m investment in electric vehicle charging points

Tees Valley mayor Ben Houchen has announced a £2m investment to expand the number of public electric vehicle charging points available across the region.

The investment will see the number of chargers increase from the 191 that are currently publicly available to 336, representing the biggest ever increase in charging points for electric vehicles in the region.

The first phase of the rollout will see chargers installed in 32 public car parks the length and breadth of the Tees Valley, boosting the number of available charging points by 75 per cent.

EB Charging Ltd has been procured to supply, operate, and maintain the points, which will make it even easier for local people with electric cars to charge them while out and about, and encourage more drivers to switch from traditional petrol or diesel vehicles to the cleaner alternative.

Installation is due to begin early in the new year, with the first 21 sites expected to be up and running by the early summer.

Studies are now being carried out as to which other car parks across the region could also form part of this first phase of installations, leading to up to 40 sites benefitting from the new charging points.

Mayor Houchen said: “For too long electric car owners across Teesside, Darlington and Hartlepool have had to make do with a charging infrastructure that is simply not fit for purpose.

“If we want to encourage more people to switch to electric vehicles we need to invest in the infrastructure needed, for too long there has been a lack of charging points available in public car parks and many of those that have been installed over the past few years are broken, limiting the number of charging options for local people and ultimately deterring people from making the switch away from petrol and diesel.

“We talk a lot about decarbonising our businesses, and our projects that are leading the way for the cleaner, safer and healthier industries and jobs of tomorrow, and this is yet another way we’re helping everyone play a part in our net zero ambitions.”

Cllr Heather Scott, Tees Valley Combined Authority’s Cabinet Lead for Transport, said: “I am delighted that these charging points are being installed across the Tees Valley. It’s an important step in making it easier for people to change their daily habits, use cleaner transport and make a real difference to climate change.”