Portsmouth hailed one of the UK's most accessible city's for electric vehicles

Mr Colin Martin, driving instructor EV owner and soon to receive a charging point in his road.

New research from Field Dynamics found that some 59 per cent of residents now live within a five-minute walk of a charge point.

With a UK average of 17 per cent fitting into this category as of 2022, a rise from 12 per cent in 2,000, an impressive 59 per cent of Portsmouth residents now fall into this category, with only Brighton and Hove and Greater London having a higher volume.

The news follows a huge effort to roll out more charging points by Portsmouth City Council.

Councillor Lynne Stagg, cabinet member for traffic and transportation, said: ‘I am thrilled to see Portsmouth’s efforts to expand our electric vehicle accessibility be recognised in this manner.

As we continue to encourage our residents and visitors to choose more sustainable travel options in a bid to improve air quality for ourselves and our city, we hope the number of electric charging points across Portsmouth will encourage people that need to replace their vehicles to consider an electric car.

‘Electric vehicles are just part of the solution however, and I’d urge everyone to make walking, cycling and taking public transport their first choice for short journeys.’

In Portsmouth, there are currently around 100 electric vehicle charge points across the city, in car parks and on streets.

On-street residential electric charging points work on a pay as you go basis, drawing their electricity from lamp posts with availability 24 hours a day.