Push to install more electric car charging points across Portsmouth

The city council is set to expand on existing off-street charging provision in a bid to support more residents making the switch to greener vehicles.

It comes after a three-year trial was carried out across three council-run car parks - Seafront Esplanade car park, Isambard Brunel multi-storey and the Clarence Pier car park - to monitor how often their charging points were used.

Councillor Lynne Stagg, the council's cabinet member for traffic and transportation, said: 'Our aim, through the off-street trial, was to understand current usage and support a more permanent charging infrastructure for commuters and visitors.

'I hope that this will encourage cleaner vehicles and promote Portsmouth as an electric vehicle-friendly city and I look forward to reading the recommendations ahead of this month's meeting.'

Potential locations for extra charging points could include the Park and Ride, other pay and display car parks and at housing and leisure sites.

The scheme is separate from the council's on-street electric car charging project, which saw 36 points in residential roads implemented in 2019.

Last year it was announced a further 61 on-street points would be established after the council was successful in securing a £200,000 grant from government.

They will be in place for three years as part of a trial before being reviewed.

This would take the city's total number of street charging points to 97 - more than the provision in areas around Portsmouth.

According to data obtained by energy services company Centrica through freedom of information requests there are currently 52 on-street car charging points in Southampton. And there are three in Havant and five in East Hampshire.

SEE ALSO: 61 new electric car charging points to be installed in Portsmouth

Overall their research found there are 7,682 on-street chargers currently installed across the UK, and a further 9,317 are planned to be rolled out over the next four years.

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

The first on-street electric car charging point was installed in the city in March 2019, in Adair Road, Southsea.

A decision on the off-street charging point scheme will be made at a traffic and transport meeting on Thursday, January 28.

A message from the Editor, Mark Waldron

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