invest north east england

Tuesday 2nd March

An £7.8m fund to roll-out electric vehicle charging points across North East England has today been announced by Regional Development Agency One North East and the Office for Low Emission Vehicles (OLEV).

An £7.8m fund to roll-out electric vehicle charging points across North East England has today been announced by Regional Development Agency One North East and the Office for Low Emission Vehicles (OLEV).

A total of 1,300 charging points will now be installed across the region over the next three years on streets, in car parks, at residential and commercial locations and at retail and leisure facilities, after OLEV confirmed funding of £2,978,000 for the regional project through its Plugged-In Places programme.

The Government has named the UK’s two other Plugged-In Places as London and Milton Keynes, which will join the North East as trailblazers for this ultra low carbon technology. The regional bid, coordinated by One North East, has been financially supported by more than 40 regional partners from the public and private sector, who have in total pledged more than £1m for charging points to be installed at their premises.

These forward-thinking organisations stretch across the region from Berwick to Redcar and from South Tyneside to the Wylam, and range from garden centres and hotels to major housebuilders and supermarkets, and all 12 of the North East’s local authorities.

Support from the business community has been generated with the help of CBI North East and the North East Chamber of Commerce, both of whom have been strong advocates of the region’s ambitions to become a global leader in the development of low carbon vehicles. The regional response to the Plugged-In Places initiative has been so enthusiastic that One North East is to leave open the fund which offers regional companies and organisations match-funding for charging points - effectively enabling them to install charging points at their premises for half the standard price (around £2,500 instead of around £5,000).

Regional partners to have pledged money to the project include:

Northumberland: Battlesteads Hotel, Berwick CoRE, Berwick Garden Centre, National Trust, Northumberland County Council, Northumberland National Park Authority, Sustainable Allendale, Wylam Green Street.

Tyneside: Cobalt Business Park, Eaga, Gateshead Council, Groundwork South Tyneside & Newcastle, MetroCentre, Newcastle City Council, Newcastle City Hospitals, Newcastle International Airport, Newcastle University, Newcastle upon Tyne Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust,  North Tyneside Council, Northumbria University, Quorum Business Park, South Tyneside Council, Your Homes Newcastle.

Sunderland: City Hospitals Sunderland, evolve Business Centre, Land Securities (The Bridges), Nexus (Park Lane Interchange), Nissan, North East Business and Innovation Centre, Sunderland City Council, University of Sunderland.

County Durham/Tees Valley: Darlington Borough Council, Durham County Council, Durham University, Hartlepool Borough Council, Middlesbrough Council, Redcar and Cleveland Borough Council, Simon Bailes Peugeot, Stockton Borough Council, Tees Valley Housing Ltd, Teesside University.

Regional: Banks Developments Ltd, Barratt Homes North East, RWE npower, Tesco, Narec, Northumbria Police.

The One North East board will next month be asked to confirm Agency funding of £3.8m towards the project, which will help One North East to meet its commitment to install 619 charging points this year, which was made in the historic Definitive Agreement the Agency signed in December with Nissan. Installation of the first phase of 40 charge points in Newcastle and Gateshead is due to be completed in the coming weeks.

Alan Clarke, Chief Executive of One North East, said: “We are delighted the Government has chosen to support our bid and that we will help lead the national infrastructure programme. The roll-out of 1,300 electric vehicle charging points across our region now begins in earnest.

“The backing we have received from regional partners shows just how much enthusiasm there is in our region to grasp the opportunities available in the low carbon vehicle sector. We are fortunate in North East England to have such forward-thinking local authorities and a business community which has recognised the immense potential offered by this industry.”

Transport Secretary Andrew Adonis said: "Decarbonising transport isn't an aspiration it's a reality. By this time next year motorists will be on the roads with new electric cars they've purchased because of our help.  And thanks to the Electric Car Hubs we will have in place infrastructure to support this growing market.

“Transport has a huge part to play to help the UK meet its stringent emission reduction targets, and today's announcement is another step on the road to putting the UK at the global forefront of ultra-low carbon vehicle development, manufacture and use.”

Business minister Pat McFadden said: "Low Carbon vehicles are an important part of the broader shift to a low carbon economy. We have already committed £450m to delivering our ambitious vision of supporting suppliers of low carbon technology, encouraging demand from consumers and enabling lead UK cities and regions to switch on charging infrastructure.

“The Government is focusing on this sector as a priority and we are committed to helping British businesses take advantage of the growth potential and job opportunities this presents."

Cllr Paul Watson, Chair of the Association of North East Councils, said: “The fact that all local authorities in the region have plugged in to this exciting project is testament to their commitment to reducing carbon emissions and in demonstrating their support for developing low carbon vehicles in the North East.  Accelerating the volume introduction of electric vehicles has been identified as a major opportunity for the North East and this regional funding support is a major step forward in helping achieving our ambitions.”

One of the companies to have pledged money to the Plugged-In Places scheme is Eaga, which already counts electric vehicles among its fleet and is to install extra charging points at its new offices in Gosforth. This will accommodate growth in its own fleet and provide convenient charging bays for visitors with electric cars.

Mitesh Dhanak, Eaga Business Development Director, said: “Eaga is delighted to be working with One North East and the Association of North East Councils on this exciting opportunity.

“As a leading company in the green agenda, we support the use of electric cars and our own fleet of electric cars has proved enormously popular with staff. Having more plugged in places would make these cars even more popular and usable and would be a huge step forward in the shift to low-carbon living.”

The Plugged-In Places funding has been announced alongside another major incentive for the switch to green transport. The Government has now confirmed that direct grants of up to £5,000 for motorists who buy an electric or hybrid electric plug-in car will be available from January 2011, by which time a range of eligible vehicles are expected to be available.

OLEV will lead work to join up the Plugged-In Places, working closely with partners including the Energy Technologies Institute and the Technology Strategy Board to ensure a fully interoperable network is established in the UK. This will include assessing the feasibility of charging along strategic corridors with the Highways Agency and motorway service area operators; and of charging infrastructure at railway station parking facilities with the Association of Train Operating Companies (ATOC) and Network Rail.

The funding for electric cars – called the Plug-in Car Grant – will significantly reduce prices by providing 25 per cent towards the cost of a new car, capped at £5,000, and will be open to both private and business fleet buyers. Cars involved in the scheme will have to pass stringent eligibility criteria to ensure safety, range, and ultra low emissions.

These measures – to be delivered by OLEV – will move the UK further towards its ambitious carbon reduction targets. It will also support the UK automotive and other related supply chain industries in realising the economic opportunities that a shift to low carbon represents.

North East businesses and organisations interested in accessing match-funding for charging points should contact Dr David Beeton, Business Strategy Senior Specialist at One North East, on Tel 0191 229 6382 or email david.beeton@onenortheast.co.uk

Ends

For further information on this release contact Paul James, PR Specialist Advisor at One North East, on Tel 0191 229 6429, Mob 07795 267126 or email paul.james@onenortheast.co.uk

You can now follow One North East on Twitter at http://twitter.com/OneNorthEast