Suffolk County Council, in partnership with operator Believ, has announced it is to roll-out 6,000 new public EV chargepoints across the county.
Beginning in Summer 2025, thousands will be installed on residential streets – the majority being bollard-style units at the kerbside, suitable for long-stay or overnight charging.
Drivers will be able to benefit from an overnight off-peak tariff, and a dedicated resident’s tariff which features discounted charging at all times.
Public car parks will also see a number of rapid and ultra-rapid chargepoint installations
Funding has come from a successful £5.3 million bid to the government’s Local Electric Vehicle Infrastructure (LEVI) fund.
This roll-out will use a proportion of this funding with a further £16 million provided by operator, Believ.
Following a competitive procurement exercise, Believ will install, operate and maintain the chargepoints, which deliver 100% renewable energy.
The project will also support the installation of rapid charging infrastructure at key community locations, building on the county council’s successful ‘Plug In Suffolk’ project which launched in 2018.
Councillor Philip Fairclough-Mutton, Suffolk County Council’s Cabinet Member for Environment, Communities and Equality said: “25% of Suffolk households don’t have a driveway, and park on their street.
“This is a significant barrier for people who would like an EV, as they have no convenient way to charge.
“We are providing a solution by installing chargepoints on their street, or very nearby. Our ambition is to provide them with a public chargepoint within a 5-10 minute walk or wheel.
“There are around 1.5 million EVs on the country’s roads and we need thousands of new public chargepoints in Suffolk, and we need them quickly – around 5,400 by 2030, and 12,000 by 2040.
“Working with Believ, our new installations will bring a significant reduction to those numbers.”
