Have your say on plans to expand electric vehicle charging across Three Rivers

Three Rivers District Council has drafted an EV Charging Strategy that aims to grow the EV charging network within the district. The strategy includes providing charging points at council-owned car parks in town and village centres, car parks at the council’s head office and leisure centres and on-street residential parking.

The council has already secured £101,250 from the Office for Zero Emission Vehicles’ On-street Residential Charge Point Scheme to install multiple EV charge points in Rickmansworth, South Oxhey, Croxley Green, Chorleywood and Abbots Langley town centres. Officers will continue exploring external grants and using funds from the Community Infrastructure Levy – a charge the council sets on new developments – to support the strategy.

The strategy aims to deploy fast and rapid chargers across town centre car parks, destination car parks and residential on-street parking. A mix of fast and rapid chargers across a variety of locations is expected to provide electric vehicle owners with flexibility and confidence on how and where they charge. Those without the ability to charge on a driveway at home will benefit from being able to make the transition to an electric vehicle by use of a public charging point.

Currently, there are only 43 public charge points across the district – none owned by the council. Hertfordshire County Council predicts there will be a need to install 6,800 public charge points across the county by 2030 to facilitate the estimated 240,800 electric vehicles registered in Hertfordshire.

Residents have until Friday 4 October 2024 to have their say on the strategy, which can be viewed here.

Cllr Stephen Giles-Medhurst, Leader of Three Rivers District Council, said: “Having the right infrastructure to help residents and businesses swap their fossil-fueled vehicles for electric vehicles is very important – and that is why we want to hear your views on the draft strategy to ensure we are targeting our actions in the right areas and to support the district’s transition to using more electric vehicles, which will help clean our air and help us reach our goal of making Three Rivers a net-zero emissions district by 2045.”