Local authorities face a colossal challenge to support the growth in electric cars (EV) over the next seven years.
Up to 480,000 public chargers needed
By 2030, the government wants to phase out the sale of new petrol and diesel cars and estimates that by the turn of the decade there will be up to 10 million EVs on our roads.
It’s an exciting step towards meeting the UK’s net zero target by 2050 but it’s going to take a mammoth effort to achieve.
As of December 2023 there were 53,906 EV public charging points nationwide, according to Zap Map.
But forecasts suggest that to support the volume of electric cars expected to be on our roads seven years from now the UK will need at least 280,000 to 480,000 public charging points.
Local authority plans for EV charging points
In the government’s own words, “the scale of the shift needed to transition to EVs is huge” and local authorities have a pinnacle role to play in this plan.
While the installation of chargers in shopping centres, at work places and on drivers’ private property has gathered pace, the provision of on-street charging points has so far been slow and patchy, according to a government review.
A map of the UK illustrating the density of public charging points highlights the stark difference between some of the counties and towns that neighbour each other.
Cornwall, for example, is named in the top 20% of areas with the highest numbers of public chargers while neighbouring West Devon is in the bottom 20%.
It’s a similar story in Suffolk. West Suffolk’s supply of public chargers falls within the top 20% but next door, in mid-Suffolk, their numbers are low.
Councils have therefore been tasked with taking “a more active role in planning and managing roll out to maximise competition”, and to protect residents who don’t have access to a charger on their own driveway by placing charging points in the right areas.
Using Hometrack’s property data to pinpoint charging needs
And some have already gotten started. Worcester council says it intends to develop a strategy to roll out more EV charging points, laying out how it will use the latest data to identify the future uptake of EVs, pinpoint where charging infrastructure is required then work with partners to meet the demand.
UK property data is a tool councils can use to pinpoint charging needs.
Collected from property listings hosted on the Zoopla portal, Hometrack’s parent company, property data can drive property level insight to help local authorities locate the areas that need public charging points the most.
Listings data is a complete set of property data generated by every home listed for sale or rent on the portal and can be used to search for areas with a high density of homes that don’t have off-street parking.
Providing a lifeline for local residents
On-street chargers will be a lifeline for EV owners who don’t have a driveway or garage and therefore cannot install a charger on their own land.
To protect residents that will be isolated from a charging point, local authorities can address match the listings data to a Unique Property Reference Number (UPRN) so that councils can locate the pockets of homes that would benefit from public charging.
Data can be cut to suit the needs of users, for example by filtering out all properties in the local authority area that have the words ‘off-street parking’, ‘driveway’ or ‘garage’ written in the listing description.
There’s no doubt local authorities have been handed a tough objective. Those who adopt a data-led strategy will be equipped to rise to the challenge.
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