Stockport invests £15m in EV charging
More than 50 rapid and ultra-rapid electric vehicle chargers will be installed in the borough, thanks to a partnership between charging network Be.EV and the council.
The £15m deal includes £8m for the installation of the 54 chargers, which will allow 100 vehicles to charge at the same time. The remaining £7m will go towards operational costs for the next 10 years.
The EV chargers will be installed by Be.EV across 20 sites in Bramhall, Cheadle, Cheadle Hulme, Edgeley, Hazel Grove, Heaton Mersey, Offerton, Reddish, Romiley, and Stockport town centre. This includes sites that already had EV charging capacity, with Be.EV upgrading the infrastructure there to create more capacity and feature faster charging.
All 20 sites are owned by the council, but Be.EV will be responsible for managing the chargers. Octopus Energy will be supplying the power for the units, which Stockport Council said will be from renewable power sources.
Stockport Council estimates that the charging units will take two weeks to install and will be operational before the end of the year.
“Installing more electric vehicle chargers is a key element for the council with regards to its commitment to taking action on climate change as we aim for Stockport to be carbon neutral by 2038,” said Cllr Mark Roberts, Leader of Stockport Council.
“Not only that, EV ownership is growing in Stockport and Greater Manchester and this is really great news that we are installing, in partnership with Be.EV, more chargers across the borough in a range of different locations that will benefit our residents.”
Be.EV chief executive Asif Ghafoor cited the project as a “great example of how the public sector can partner with the private”.
“The council wants to deliver cleaner air and they have found these sites for EV chargers,” Ghafoor said. “It is our job now to bring the expertise and the commercial incentive to make them fabulous.
“They are the first step in helping the borough and its residents hit their green targets while bringing a financial benefit as well,” he continued.
“We want other councils to sit up and take notice of this gold standard development or they will be left behind.”
Below is a full list of where the chargers will be installed, as supplied by Stockport Council:
- Massie Street, Cheadle
- Bruntwood Park, Cheadle
- Church Road – Cheadle
- Church Rd/Woods Lane – Cheadle Hulme
- Mellor Road -Cheadle Hulme
- Bramhall Precinct
- Commercial Road East – Hazel Grove
- Torkington Road – Hazel Grove
- Caroline Street – Edgeley
- Banks Lane – Offerton
- Marple Memorial Park
- Romiley Precinct
- Romiley Railway Station
- Ashbrook Lane – Reddish
- Rupert Street – Reddish
- Didsbury Road – Heaton Mersey
- Redrock NCP
- Merseyway NCP – Town Centre
- Churchgate – Town Centre
- Knightsbridge – Town Centre
