Today [11 April 2023], the mayor of London, Sadiq Khan and London Councils have announced plans to install thousands more electric vehicle charging points across all 32 boroughs using £35.7m of capital funding from the UK government’s Local Electric Vehicle Infrastructure (LEVI) fund.
The money will be used to help the capital meet its target of 40-60,000 chargepoint installations by 2030, which forms part of its wider net-zero city strategy.
Currently, the total number of chargepoints in London is nearly 13,000, which represents around one third of the UK’s total.
What’s more, an additional £3m of capability funding will be used to fund officers dedicated to helping deliver chargepoints across the 32 boroughs.
Sadiq Khan, mayor of London, said: “Shifting to electric vehicles is just one of the ways we can clean up our air and bring down harmful, toxic emissions.
“London is leading the way in the delivery of electric vehicle charge points and infrastructure, and this funding will help ensure that we can reach our ambition to have at the very least one electric vehicle charge point on every street where needed.
“This is a bold ambition, and we will only achieve this by working closely with London boroughs and TfL to ensure public charge points are installed where they are most needed, making it easier, more accessible and more convenient for Londoners to switch to electric vehicles.”
The mayor, London Councils and Transport for London will support the boroughs to ensure chargepoints are delivered fairly and meet the needs of local communities.
Since 2016, the mayor and TfL have delivered more than 300 rapid charge points, with 10,000 slow-to-fast chargepoints also being installed.
Philip Glanville, climate change, transport and environment lead for London Councils and mayor of hackney, said: “London boroughs have installed 9,000 charge points since 2016 but we know further extensive investment in London’s electric vehicle charging infrastructure is crucial to making it as easy as possible for Londoners across the capital to make the switch to cleaner travel options.
“…We are determined to invest London’s £35.7m share of government funding in distributing new charge points fairly so they are accessible to all of London’s communities, helping to build confidence among our residents in making the decision to go electric.”
This infrastructure forms a critical part of the mayor’s vision for London to become a net-zero carbon city by 2030.
