LocalGov Elections: Ones to watch in May
Dr Greg Stride, Senior Researcher, Local Government Information Unit (LGIU) provides a primer for the upcoming local elections.
Pace of EV charger installation by councils a ‘real concern’
31/07/2023 Poor investment at a local level means private investment will be required to meet a target to install 300,000 public EV chargers by 2030, law firm says. |
Removing the barriers to electric vehicle roll-out
03/07/2023 Chris Hornung, managing director for Public Sector at Totalmobile, discusses removing the barriers to electric vehicle roll-out in local government. |
Thousands more green buses needed to reach net zero
28/06/2023 More than 5,800 extra green buses are needed in England by 2030 to reach net zero and support the levelling up agenda, according to a new report from IPPR. |
Councils lack strategy for charging points, poll reveals
23/06/2023 More than nine out of 10 local authorities have no strategy for electric car charging points, survey finds |
‘Smart multi-purpose' lamp post pilots launched
14/06/2023 Ministers have announced up to £1.5m for six local authority-led pilots to test the capacity for lamp posts to deliver smart services such as EV charging. |
Car parks at risk from EV increase
05/06/2023 An increase in the use of heavy electric vehicles poses a risk to car parks, structural engineers have warned. |
Controversial eco service station given green light
30/05/2023 Plans for a controversial ‘ultra-green’ service station and hotel in the South Downs National Park have been given the go-ahead. |
Number of public EV charge points up 3,000
05/05/2023 The number of public electric vehicle (EV) charge points increased by over 3,000 in the first quarter of this year, up 8% compared to the start of January. |
Council welcomes Jaguar’s all-electric facility
20/04/2023 Knowsley Council has welcomed a decision by Jaguar Land Rover (JLR) to convert its production plant in Merseyside into the firm's first all-electric facility. |
Hackney Council to roll-out 2,500 chargers
30/03/2023 Hackney Council has signed a contract with charging specialists Zest to provide and operate its charge point roll-out of 2,500 fast and slow chargers. |
DfT shaves local funding from £400m charge point announcement
30/03/2023 Ministers appear to have cut Local Electric Vehicle Infrastructure (LEVI) funding to local authorities by tens of millions over the next two years. |
Surrey CC begins roll-out of record 10,000 EV chargers
23/03/2023 EV owners in Surrey will soon have access to 10,000 public chargers as the council announces the largest deployment of charge points by a UK local authority. |
How digital tech can re-energise the charge point experience
15/03/2023 James O’Neill, CEO of Paythru, looks at how digital technologies can help improve the electric vehicle charge point experience. |
EV streets for all
09/03/2023 Dr Chao Long, a researcher at Cranfield University, argues that local government urgently needs data on EV use in order to avoid mistakes around funding. |
Multi-million-pound grant delivers over 117 electric buses
02/03/2023 A £25m Government grant has supported the production of 117 new British-made zero emission electric buses. |
The SWARCO team wins big at the 2023 E-Mobility Awards
15/02/2023 SWARCO Smart Charging won awards in two categories – EV Service Team of the Year and EV Network Operator of the Year – at the 2023 E-Mobility Awards. |
Council’s £8m EV programme branded a ‘fiasco’
11/01/2023 York Council’s EV programme has been branded a ‘fiasco’ after it spent £8m on a fleet of EVs without having the right charging infrastructure fully in place. |
Public EV network under pressure from electricity price rise
10/01/2023 RAC and FairCharge have called on the Government to slash the VAT rate at public electric vehicle chargers after new data shows increase in charger costs. |
Council grants planning permission for Europe’s largest lithium refinery
28/11/2022 Planning permission has been granted to develop Europe’s largest lithium hydroxide refinery in Teesside, a move aimed at boosting the EV battery industry. |
Nottingham council celebrates £34m electric bus investment
25/10/2022 Nottingham City Transport’s first electric buses will soon hit the city’s streets thanks to a multi-million-pound investment by the transport operator. |
Councils set to double number of EV chargers
24/10/2022 Local authorities are set to double the number of electric vehicle charging points they install over the next year, according to new data released today. |
Council launches longest electric circular bus route
14/10/2022 Leicester CC has launched the UK’s longest electric circular bus route, which is the fifth new service to be launched using the council's electric buses. |
Warrington council becomes first to produce all its own electricity
13/10/2022 Warrington Borough Council has become the first local authority in the UK to produce all of its own electricity with the completion of a new hybrid solar farm. |
Cost to use public charge points up over 40%
26/09/2022 The cost to charge an electric car on a pay-as-you-go basis at a publicly accessible ‘rapid’ charger has increased by 42%, the RAC reports. |
Majority of EV drivers ‘dissatisfied’ with charging infrastructure
23/09/2022 Three-quarters of electric vehicle owners say that they are dissatisfied with the charging infrastructure available, new research has revealed. |
Glasgow and Aberdeen to get new electric buses
22/09/2022 First Bus Scotland is to spend £35m on 74 new electric buses and infrastructure, taking emission free buses in Aberdeen to more than 50% of the city’s fleet. |
First Bus places UK’s largest ever electric bus order
01/09/2022 First Bus has placed one of the UK’s largest EV bus orders following bids with local authorities to a Government scheme aimed at promoting zero emission buses. |
Nine councils set to benefit from £20m EV charge point pilot
24/08/2022 A multi-million-pound electric vehicle (EV) charge point pilot looks set to deliver an estimated 1,000 new chargers across the country. |
Drivers 'crying out' for chargers close to home
22/08/2022 The AA has revealed huge gaps where there is little to no residential on-street electric vehicle charging, with government schemes making limited progress. |
Government needs ‘cohesive strategy’ to help council EV roll-out
03/08/2022 Only 14% of local authorities in the UK have a dedicated resource for implementing a new electric vehicle (EV) infrastructure, EV charging experts warn. |
West Sussex set to welcome largest-ever EV charger roll-out
23/06/2022 Local authorities in West Sussex are celebrating the largest-ever local authority roll-out of electric vehicle (EV) charging points in the UK. |
Portsmouth council opposes £1.2bn electric cable
22/06/2022 Portsmouth City Council is formally opposing plans to build a £1.2bn electricity interconnector between Portsmouth and Normandy in France. |
Electric vehicle plug-in grant comes to an end
14/06/2022 The Government is today closing the plug-in grant for cars and says the focus will now be on expanding the public charge point network. |
Charge point operator warns of £1.5bn shortfall in EV funding
08/06/2022 A charge point operator has warned of a £1.5bn shortfall in Government electric vehicle infrastructure funding and called on the private sector to step in. |
DfT spent 15 times more on private than public EV chargers
12/05/2022 Study reveals public money spent on installing off-street residential electric vehicle chargers is 15 times what has been spent on public on-street chargers. |
City council invites businesses to test-drive electric vans
29/04/2022 Nottingham City Council is inviting businesses to test-drive a new electric van before taking a fully-funded one-month trial. |
Vast majority of EV drivers use public chargers
21/04/2022 The majority of electric vehicle (EV) drivers use public charge points with 40% using them once a week, a new survey has revealed. |
Only a quarter of councils published EV strategies
07/04/2022 Only a quarter of local authorities in the UK have published electric vehicle (EV) transition strategies, a freedom of information (FOI) request has revealed. |
Shapps launches £10m pilot EV charging fund
01/04/2022 Transport secretary Grant Shapps has written to local authority chief executives to launch a pilot £10m bidding scheme to boost local EV infrastructure. |
Council chiefs welcome £1.6bn EV charge point strategy
25/03/2022 Local authorities have welcomed a new Government strategy designed to boost the roll-out of 300,000 electric vehicle charge points by 2030. |
Ratio of public chargers to EVs ‘rapidly deteriorated’
24/03/2022 The ratio of public standard chargers to electric vehicles has ‘rapidly deteriorated’, the automotive industry has warned. |
Industry leaders call for ‘step change’ in EV charger roll-out
22/03/2022 Industry leaders have called for a ‘step change’ in the UK’s electric vehicle (EV) charging roll-out to deliver the 2030 ban on new petrol and diesel cars. |
Clean air zones creating North/South electric vehicle divide
21/03/2022 The roll-out of clean air zones by councils is creating a dramatic North/South divide when it comes to electric vehicle (EV) take-up, new figures suggest. |
New guide launched to help councils deliver charging points
23/02/2022 Local authorities are being urged to do more to ensure electric vehicle users have easy access to a reliable charge point in their area. |
Automotive industry calls for mandated targets to boost EV infrastructure
16/02/2022 The UK automotive industry has called for mandated targets for the roll-out of electric vehicle (EV) charging infrastructure supported by ring-fenced funding for local authorities. |
Government criticised for plug-in grant cut
16/12/2021 The Government is facing criticism for its decision to cut the plug-in car and van grant by up to £1,000 and change the eligibility criteria. |
Sunderland’s e-scooter trial will continue into 2022
17/09/2021 Sunderland’s e-scooter trial will continue into 2022 so that more data on their use can be gathered. |
Council set to discuss £500,000 loan to support EV battery production
17/09/2021 Coventry City Council is to discuss a £500,000 loan to help the new UK Battery Industrialisation Centre (UKBIC) take on new business. |
Shell aims to install 50,000 EV chargepoints
01/09/2021 Shell has announced that it aims to install 50,000 on-street electric vehicle (EV) chargers through their company ubitricity across the UK by the end of 2025. |
The Electric Vehicle Revolution – new opportunities for local authorities
17/08/2021 There is a very real need for the UK’s EV charge point roll out to quicken pace – and local authorities can benefit says Justin Skinner of The Pilot Group |
Record levels of lithium discovered in Cornwall
12/08/2021 The energy company Geothermal Engineering Ltd (GEL) yesterday announced that it had discovered record levels of lithium in its geothermal waters. |
Get aboard zero-emission bus scheme, DfT says
30/03/2021 The Government has launched its £120m fund scheme to help local transport authorities in England roll out zero-emission buses. |
Shell is helping power the journey towards a circular paving industry with Shell Bitumen LT R, a new product for roads that uses plastics destined for landfill as part of the additives to make the bitumen.
Effective Energy Group is now offering its support to the 40 Local Authorities who have received a share of the £430m to deliver their projects on the ground by surveying properties and installing measures.
Dougie Belmore explains how one of the main interfaces between you and Bacs is about to change.
