First on-street electric vehicle charge points to be installed in Norwich next month

Plans to install on-street residential chargers for electric vehicles (EVs) in Norwich have picked up pace again with works due to start in December following a pause to review consultation feedback.

In February, Norfolk County Council confirmed that Blink Charging UK was successful in winning the contract to install 46 EV chargers across the city.

A public consultation on the original plans took place over the spring of 2023, receiving feedback from more than 400 individuals as well as interest from key stakeholder groups.

Both Norfolk County Council and Blink greatly value consultation feedback and decided to delay the first installs to ensure the rollout took on board the comments of the public where possible. As the first project of its kind in the county, and as a pilot scheme, it was vital to ensure the best solution was provided for the city and that the infrastructure is fit for purpose both now and in the future as more people make the transition to electric vehicles.

Graham Plant, NCC cabinet member for highways, infrastructure and transport said: "We remain committed to this pioneering project which supports our ambitions for a greener and cleaner future for Norfolk. The feedback we gained from our consultation was invaluable and has allowed us to reassess some of the site designs to ensure we are introducing the right infrastructure to make Norfolk fit for the future and enable people to cut their dependence on motor transport that rely on fossil fuels."

Our public consultation showed that having access to public chargers near to where people live was more important than provision elsewhere on the network, particularly for those residents that did not have their own private driveways.

The original contract was to install, supply and operate 46 new charge points on 40 streets across Norwich. Following the review and redesigns, installs will be done in stages. The first stage will see delivery of 66 chargers at 33 of the 46 locations proposed originally. The remaining 13 locations are under review and further details will be made available in due course.

Stage one is due to start on 11 December 2023 (subject to all required permissions being in place) and includes the following installs:

• Grove Road (4 x EVCP)
• Telegraph Lane East (4 x EVCP)
• Onley Street (1 x EVCP)
• Hobart Square (1 x EVCP)
• St Leonards Road (1 x EVCP)
• Hall Road (1 x EVCP)

Those living on these streets will be notified of exact dates ahead of works starting along with the formal public information notice being published for all works.

Alex Calnan, managing director of Blink Charging UK said: "We're really excited to be working with Norfolk County Council on this ambitious project to dramatically increase the availability of EV chargers across Norwich. We know from research that the lack of EV chargers is one of the top barriers to people making the transition to electric vehicle, so we're delighted that our programme will now be to install even more chargers which will make switching to EVs a realistic option for residents, businesses and visitors."

Due to the nature of these streets some on-street parking restrictions next to the chargers will need to be reviewed, so electric vehicles can access them. These will be decided at design stage and any changes to parking restrictions will be subject to statutory consultation with residents.

The chargers being installed include floor-mounted 22kW fast chargers Alfen Twins and 50-100kW rapid chargers Delta Slimlines. These are both best suited to residential, on-street, sites.

It is expected that all EV chargers will be installed by Spring 2024.