Electric Vehicle Charging Point Upgrade Progressing

A project to deliver the largest ever electric vehicle charger rollout across the North of England is progressing at pace.

South Tyneside Council is working with Connected Kerb, one of the UK's leading electric vehicle charging infrastructure providers, to upgrade and expand electric vehicle (EV) charging infrastructure across the Borough, with the installation of up to 2,000 new charging points over the 20-year partnership.

The roll out will see new chargers installed at 20 locations over the first two years, across key residential, commercial and retail locations, and since work started in July 2024, new chargers have been installed in five car parks so far, providing an additional 22 sockets. This has been achieved with support from the Office for Zero Emission Vehicles.

Rapid charging points will also be upgraded and adopted on to the Connected Kerb network across 14 locations, providing 15 sockets of 50kW power. Work continues to upgrade existing sites, with chargers set to be replaced at a further 33 locations to provide around 100 sockets by the end of summer 2025.

Rugby legend and Connected Kerb Brand Ambassador, Martin Offiah MBE, recently visited South Tyneside to witness the progress of the Borough's electric vehicle charging infrastructure rollout.

"Electric vehicle charging infrastructure is crucial for a smooth transition from traditional vehicles to electric ones," said Offiah. "It's fantastic to see such significant progress in South Tyneside. By expanding the charging network, we can ensure that people have the confidence to switch to electric vehicles, knowing they can charge wherever they go."

The Council previously had 59 electric vehicle charging points across the Borough. The programme of work involves replacing the old Legacy charge points with Connected Kerb's on-street chargers as well as installing the new charging points.

Councillor Tracey Dixon, Leader of South Tyneside Council, said: "Seeing the existing network of chargers being upgraded and even more public charging points being made available is great, especially for those residents who are unable to charge their vehicles at home or visitors from out of the area.

"The previous electric vehicle charging network was also unreliable and costly to maintain. This new operational model is helping to expand and enhance our existing infrastructure to provide a more reliable, modern comprehensive system that will also give us the scope to grow the network further in future to meet demand as more people turn to using electric vehicles.

"By providing the necessary infrastructure for an efficient and reliable network, we hope that residents will have the confidence to make the switch to electric."

The partnership with Connected Kerb supports the Council's drive to reduce carbon emissions and be more sustainable having declared a climate emergency in July 2019.

It also acts as a blueprint for levelling up electric vehicle charging in the north of England, delivering more than 150 per cent increase in charge points for the region in a single partnership.

Connected Kerb will be responsible for the management, maintenance and operation of the new charging points.

South Tyneside Council is the only local authority in the North East yet to charge people to use the electric charging points, having offered more than two million k/w in free electricity since the first unit was installed in 2010.

One of the main changes will be introducing a tariff for electricity consumption, which is currently subsidised by the Council at a cost of £200,000 per year, having seen a 70 per cent increase in use and consumption between 2021 and 2022 alone. The move will also save the Council a further £20,000 a year in back office and regular maintenance costs.

Councillor Margaret Meling, Lead Member for Economic Growth and Transport said: "Under the new model, Connected Kerb will manage and maintain the network and the price introduction will bring us in line with our regional neighbours. Providing better, reliable and accessible charging infrastructure is a huge step forward in supporting our sustainability ambitions and the wider work we are doing to help cut carbon emissions."

The projects are being funded by the Office for Low Emission Vehicles and Connected Kerb.

For further information about the project visit EV charging improvements in South Tyneside