First charging points go live in Blaby

Electric Vehicle

 

The first charging points in Blaby District Council’s pay and display car parks are live and ready to use, as part of a project to make electric vehicle owning more accessible to residents.

Johns Court and Enderby Road car parks in Blaby are the first charging points to go live, with eight bays in each car park exclusively reserved for electric vehicle car owners to charge their vehicle using the 7kW chargers installed.

The phased launch will also see charging points go live in Narborough, with six bays in Weavers Court and two bays in Leicester Road available for use in the coming weeks.

£77,000 for the project came from the Office of Low Emission Vehicles for the ‘On-Street Residential Charge Point Scheme’. The rest of the funding will come from EB Charging, who installed and will manage the charging points.

Local residents who cannot access a charging point are being encouraged to take advantage of the new chargers, as well as for shoppers in Blaby and Narborough taking advantage to top up their electric vehicle.

EB Charging will be offering the first two months of charging for free as part of the scheme. After the free period ends, charging will cost 30p per kW, with cashless payment made via the EB Charging app.

The app will not need to be used during the free introductory period, after which payment will be required via the app.

Dedicated charging bays will have a three-hour maximum stay from 8am-6pm Monday to Saturday, and cars parked in the bays must be plugged in to a charging point and displaying a valid parking ticket. Out of hours and Sunday parking is free, but the 30p per kW charge will apply at all times.

Councillor Les Phillimore, Portfolio Holder for Housing, Community and Environmental Services, said: “We are delighted to launch these charging points in our car parks as part of our ambition to make electric vehicle ownership as accessible to as many people as possible, as part of our Carbon Neutral Action Plan for the district.

“We are hopeful that residents in Blaby and Narborough who can’t access a charging point where they live will now have the opportunity to take the plunge into the world of electric vehicle ownership.

“Our new EV charging points will also support local businesses by encouraging Electric Vehicle owners to shop and relax locally, and will be able to top-up their electric vehicles whilst they do.”

For more information about charging points in the district visit the Electric Vehicle Charging page of the website.