The first of Newport Council's new on-street electric vehicle charging points are live and ready for use.
The points are a mixture of standalone bollards and chargers which have been installed on existing streetlights. The latter are among the first streetlight style charging points to be installed in Wales.
Locations where the new chargers are live include Alexandra Road, Corporation Road, St Woolos Road and Brynglas Avenue.
They form part of the network of charging points being installed for the council by Urban Fox.
Funding for this work has been provided by the UK Government, through their On-Street Residential Chargepoint Scheme, and by Urban Fox.
Users will be able to access the type 2 connection points using their own charging cable, and pay for their use with the Urban Fox app.
The points are slow chargers, perfect for those looking to charge their cars overnight.
More chargers will be made live in the coming months as work continues. Once all of the installations are complete, the total number of these chargers in Newport will be 120.
This will boost Newport’s already extensive network of electric vehicle charging points.
A report last year by Field Dynamics said that 41.1 per cent of houses in Newport with no access to off-street parking were within five minutes’ walk of an EV charging point.
This was the highest coverage in Wales, and the 13th best of all UK council areas outside of London.
The charging points are ideal for residential streets, as they allow the council to expand their network without taking up lots of space on the street.
To ensure that parking remains available along these streets, the council will not be adding marked parking bays next to the new chargers. This means that no parking restrictions will be in place, aside from existing restrictions.
“I’m very pleased to see the first of our new charging points going live,” said Councillor Yvonne Forsey, cabinet member for climate change, waste and recycling.
“They’re very straightforward to use and provide an innovative charging solution for those without access to off-street parking.
“It is important to us that we look at as many different ways as possible to expand the coverage of our charging network.
“This is so that as many of our residents as possible can benefit, should they wish to.
“Future-proofing our charging network also gives residents who might be thinking about switching to electric vehicles in the future the confidence to know that, if they do switch, there are plenty of charging points available to them.
“I’d like to thank our climate change team and Urban Fox for the work they have done so far on these installations and look forward to seeing more chargers go live soon.”
If you would be interested in having a charger installed in your street, contact the team here: EVCharging@newport.gov.uk.
