Scarborough Council awarded £260,000 funding grant for new electric car charging points to meet demand across Yorkshire coast

The funding of “approximately” £264,390 was confirmed by the Office for Zero Emission Vehicles on September 6.

Scarborough Council’s interim director of neighbourhoods and climate change, Paul Thomspon, accepted and entered into the funding agreement on Thursday September 22.

The council's successful funding bid was to the Government’s On-Street Residential Chargepoint Scheme which has been allocated £20m of funding between 2022 and 2023.

In June, the authority applied for funding for 102 electric vehicle charging points – 60 charging bays in Scarborough, 24 in Whitby, six in Filey and another 12 across other villages.

However, the grant is for the installation of 48 electric charge points across 18 council-owned car parks according to the report.

The grant has a “maximum value” of £264,390 as funding will only be released for each charge point installed by the council during the funding period.

The funding period runs from the date of the agreement until December 31, by which time the charging points need to be installed.

The authority has admitted that the deadline of around three months may prove to be a challenge although it has said that it is partnering with Northern Powergrid to ensure adequate power capacity for the project.

According to a report by Mr Thompason, lead times with Northern Powergrid connections could “impact on project delivery”, however, officers are working with the energy provider to mitigate risk.

The council will also be entering into a separate agreement with Connect Kerb Ltd for the installation, operation and maintenance of the charge points, with the contractor also providing 40 per cent match funding to the project.

The number of public electric vehicle charge points in the borough is currently very low, an issue that is increasingly being raised by residents and visitors to the area.

Last year, of the approximately 56,000 cars and vans registered in the borough, only 284 were plug-in electric vehicles or hybrids. Although the figure is set to rise in the coming years as sales of new petrol and diesel cars in the UK must end by 2030.

Speaking in December 2021, Cllr Michelle Donohue-Moncrieff, cabinet member for environment and sustainability said: "When it comes to emitting carbon emissions, combustion engine vehicles are one of the biggest contributors identified in our climate change strategy.

"We hope our scheme will influence people’s decision on their next vehicle and meet the needs of those already calling on us to take action to increase the number of charge points in the borough."