DRIVERS of plug-in vehicles will soon find topping up their mileage even more convenient, thanks to 84 new plug-in vehicle fast charging bays being installed in Leeds.

A newly announced partnership between Leeds City Council and EB Charging will see 84 new ‘fast’ charging bays installed at 15 locations across the city—with the first 30 bays at six locations already live. Fifty-four bays at nine more locations are due to go live by the early summer. Each of the new bays will be easily located on services such as Plugshare or Zap-map when live.

Horsforth, Rothwell, and Morley are among the areas that will benefit from the new infrastructure. The council has selected the locations to help improve access to local vehicle chargers for residents living in parts of the city with limited off-street parking. The new charge points will supply vehicles at a rate of up to seven kilowatts, meaning that a typical electric vehicle could fully recharge in around six hours.

Local drivers are increasingly switching to electric or hybrid models. Official statistics show more than 39,000 plug-in vehicles now registered in Leeds and traffic data from the local authority show that the share of fully electric vehicles on the city’s roads has doubled in the last year alone. The council is working to improve charging infrastructure to encourage more drivers to switch to the cleaner, greener vehicles as part of its Connecting Leeds transport strategy and response to the climate emergency. Leeds had more than 412 publicly accessible charge points as of October 2022—more than triple the amount available a year earlier. Many drivers will also have access to private charging either at home or in the workplace—often the cheapest and most convenient way to charge.

Since 2018, local planning policies have required new charging infrastructure in all new developments with parking. The local authority has also successfully secured grant funding and private sector partnerships to install dozens more new charging bays at car parks across the city. This includes 72 rapid charging bays in partnership with Geniepoint and the West Yorkshire Combined Authority, and 24 bays (a combination of fast and rapid chargers) at Stourton Park & Ride in partnership with EB Charging.

Funding worth £370,000 for the new charge points was provided through a combination of grant funding provided by the government’s Office for Zero Emission Vehicles and a significant contribution provided by EB Charging.

Councillor Helen Hayden, Leeds City Council’s executive member for infrastructure and climate said: “I’m delighted that the council is working with EB Charging to install another 84 charge points for plug-in vehicle drivers across the city. With transport emissions making up such a significant proportion of our city’s carbon footprint, it is really encouraging to see the demand for cleaner, greener vehicles growing—having more than tripled in the last two years. We know that access to charging, particularly for residents who don’t have off-street parking, is preventing some people from enjoying the benefits of electric vehicles. So I hope that the installation of these new charge points will make it easier for more people to make the switch.”