Council agrees plans to expand electric vehicle infrastructure

This is an archived article from 26 April 2023. 

South Ayrshire Council will increase the number of electric vehicle (EV) charging points over the next three to four years. This follows a decision at yesterday's (25 April) Cabinet meeting*.

The Council is working with East Ayrshire Council (through the Ayrshire Roads Alliance) and North Ayrshire Council to expand access across the whole of Ayrshire.

The plans involve working with an experienced commercial partner to increase the number of EV charging points to an estimated 433 across Ayrshire.

In South Ayrshire there are currently 36 dual publicly accessible chargers, under the plans this would rise to 137.

At this point there are no recommendations for the tariff, but North Ayrshire Council currently charges 5.4p per mile for Destination charge points and 8.6p per mile for Rapid charge points.

Locations for the proposed charging points have not been finalised but they should be within a 10-minute drive for 99% of properties that don't have off-street parking.

You can view a list of potential charging point locations here.

 A public consultation will be carried out before the locations are agreed.

 Councillor Bob Pollock Economic Development Portfolio Holder for South Ayrshire Council said: "Following a consultation with the public and the business community last year, it's clear that a well maintained and reliable network is required, not just in our main towns but in rural locations as well. It's also important that there is charging provision in more deprived areas, so everyone has the option to make the switch to electric / hybrid vehicles as we push towards net zero carbon emissions."

The total investment in the initiative is around £5.4million, which is expected to come from a mixture of national grant funding available from Transport Scotland, private sector investment and the income generated from the Council's existing portfolio of charge points and newly installed EV charging points.

The commercial partner would be responsible for the operation of the charging points and maintenance. It's hoped that a contractor will be in place by the middle of next year.

*Subject to any call-ins (decisions can be called in for scrutiny by other Councillors prior to implementation).