Further 83 electric car charging points could be installed in Portsmouth

The city council is set to implement up to 83 new on-street points across Portsmouth - up from the 79 initially proposed earlier this year - adding to 36 already in place.

It comes following a successful bid of £200,000 in grant-funding from the Office for Low Emission Vehicles (OLEV).

Councillor Lynne Stagg, Portsmouth City Council's traffic and transport boss, said: 'I'm delighted that we've been able to provide these charge points to residents following our successful bid for a share of the £10m OLEV funding.'

Following the initial round of installations in 2019, the council has been considering requests from current electric vehicle owners and residents who have expressed an interest in purchasing one in the near future.

Having assessed the sites for suitability, the council is now writing to residents in the proposed roads to gauge feedback and to understand the number of sites required in these areas.

Cllr Stagg added: 'We've received a fantastic response to the scheme and it's great to see so many vehicle owners making the switch to electric and commit to create cleaner air in our city.

'On World Electric Vehicle Day (September 9), we can celebrate this contribution which will help to make Portsmouth a cleaner, greener and safer city in which to live, visit, work and study.'

The council was one of the first local authorities in the UK to develop a charging point housed inside street lamp columns or slimline bollards with a designated parking bay.

SEE ALSO: Council to begin charging at coastal car parks

The marked parking bays can only be used by vehicles that are charging. Electricity provider, Ubitricity, provides two tariff options, subscription and pay as you go, giving users flexibility over their payment options.

For locations for the planned points and information on current points visit portsmouth.gov.uk/chargepoints.

The number of electric cars in Portsmouth has increased to from 1,033 in 2015 to 2,025 in 2019.

There are also charging points available in some city car parks including the Isambard Brunel multi-storey car park in the city centre, the Seafront Esplanade car park and the Clarence Pier car park.

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