Hackney,
17
February
2020
|
13:15
Europe/London

Over 182 new electric vehicle charging points to be installed in Hackney

Cllr Jon Burke, Hackney Council Cabinet Member for Energy, Waste, Transport and Public Realm with one of the Council's electric vehicles

An additional 182 electric vehicle charging points are set to be installed in Hackney this year, with the Council also launching a feasibility study into the rapid expansion of charging infrastructure in the borough. 

Of the new charging points 120 are set to be installed on lampposts - with dedicated charging bays created on the road - which will bring the total number of chargers in Hackney to 298. 

Funded by the Department for Transport’s Go Ultra Low City Scheme, with match-funding from the Council, the lamppost chargers make use of the existing power supply to lampposts to provide additional charging points, and will help people make the switch to electric vehicles, reducing their impact on air quality. 

Residents and businesses are being asked to suggest locations for the new charging points that will best support people to switch to electric vehicles. 

The Council is also commissioning a study that will investigate the feasibility of delivering lamp column charge points on all of the borough’s residential roads, as part of a broader programme to drastically reduce motor vehicle pollution without increasing car ownership overall. 

If a charging point were to be installed on every street, up to 2,000 would be seen across the borough, building on the Council’s existing commitment to provide a charging point no more than 500m from every home. 

As part of the study, the Council is exploring how its new publicly-owned, low carbon energy services company, Hackney Light and Power could be used to power the new chargers. 

Cllr Jon Burke, Cabinet Member for Energy, Waste, Transport and Public Realm
When we declared a Climate Emergency, we pledged to do everything in the Council’s power to reach net zero emissions by 2040, which includes taking action to rapidly reduce transport pollution, the UK’s largest and growing source of global warming emissions. 

While we are working to reduce the overall number of cars on Hackney’s streets - supporting people to become more active and making our public spaces safer - the expansion of electric vehicle charge points, alongside our emissions-based parking system and other measures to discourage car ownership such as the rebalancing of road space away from cars, will help ensure that  the remaining motor vehicles are increasingly zero emissions. This will eliminate carbon dioxide emissions at the tailpipe and significantly reduce the toxic particulate matter that motor vehicles produce.
Cllr Jon Burke, Cabinet Member for Energy, Waste, Transport and Public Realm

The roll-out of GULCS across the capital is a joint initiative between Transport for London (TfL), the Greater London Authority (GLA) and London Councils.

It’s fantastic to see this electric vehicle charging point boost. 

London’s air pollution is a public health emergency. London boroughs are determined to keep investing in electric vehicle charging infrastructure because this will encourage Londoners to switch to cleaner, greener vehicles and help to reduce harmful emissions.
Cllr Julian Bell, Chair of London Councils’ Transport & Environment Committee
In London, as in many other world cities, we know we have to move quickly to tackle poor air quality. This includes accelerating the transition from polluting vehicles to those that are zero emission at tailpipe, which means installing the right charging infrastructure in the right places to give people confidence to make the switch.

It is great news that Hackney is using the Go Ultra Low City scheme funding to increase the number of places to power up and harnessing innovative lamppost charging technology to do so. Working in partnership with Londoners is essential to ensuring supply meets demand as the capital undergoes this green transformation. Local residents and businesses will welcome the opportunity to come forward with suggestions for new sites.
Christina Calderato, TfL’s Head of Transport Strategy and Planning

Residents who want to suggest locations for the new lamppost chargers should contact movegreener@hackney.gov.uk. Findings from the feasibility study are expected to be available in the summer. 

The new chargers will bring the total number of charging points in Hackney to 298, including: 

  • 12 Rapid Chargers with capacity to charge 22 vehicles 

  • 69 Fast Freestanding Chargers with capacity to charge 93 vehicles

  • 183 Lamppost Chargers

The Go Ultra Low City Scheme is a programme by the Office for Low Emission Vehicles within the Department for Transport. It aims to provide funding to local authorities in the UK that encourages thousands of people to consider switching to an electric car.