UK chancellor, Rishi Sunak, has pledged £500m to support the rollout of new rapid charging hubs for electric cars.
Announced during his first Budget, Sunak told the House of Commons the measure will ensure that drivers are never more than 30 miles away from being able to charge their vehicle.
He also stated that the government will invest £300m in tackling nitrogen dioxide emissions in towns and cities across England.
“As well as taxing pollution – we will invest and cut taxes on clean transport to make it cheaper to buy zero- or low-emission cars, vans, motorbikes and taxis,” the chancellor said.
Sunak also announced plans to spend £2.5bn on the repair of 50 million potholes, and £4.2bn on urban transport, the latter of which will go towards integrated transport settlements for eight regions across the UK.
“To make sure that it is not just Londoners that will benefit from long-term transport deals that will help Transport for London, I am announcing the West Yorkshire mayor, along with seven other mayors, get new London-style funding settlements worth £4.2bn,” said Sunak.
As well as West Yorkshire, Greater Manchester, West Midlands, Liverpool City Region, Tyne and Wear, West of England, Sheffield City Region and Tees Valley, are all in line to receive investment.
However, some authorities will have to put in place an elected mayor to win their share.
Funding will be delivered from 2022-23 as part of five-year funding settlements.
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