Fifty-six electric vehicle (EV) charging bays have been switched on across the borough, marking the latest successful milestone in the Council’s EV charging infrastructure roll out.
The locations, which have been carefully selected based on where there is either current or expected future demand for EVs, offer residents without access to private a driveway the opportunity to park and charge an EV near to their home.
As part of the latest roll out, charging points have now been installed across the borough, including in Shirley, Knowle, Olton, Silhill, Blythe, Lyndon, Elmdon, Dorridge and Smiths Wood. The total number of 56 also includes 18 charging bays being switched back on in the north of the borough and 6 recently installed at the Council House, which are available to members of the public on evenings and weekends.
Solihull Council has partnered with SWARCO, a leading supplier of EV charging solutions to help expand the borough’s growing EV charging network. With activation being phased over the last couple of weeks the charging points have already powered over 3,635 electric miles. The new infrastructure offers EV drivers convenient, efficient and affordable charging options, with prices set at £0.25p per kilowatt for the first year – meaning residents could halve the cost of their normal petrol or diesel bill for same amount of miles
Councillor Andy Mackiewicz, Portfolio Holder for Climate Change, Planning & Housing said:
“As electric vehicles start to become the ‘norm’, we want play our part, as a council, in facilitating this transition. I’m thrilled that this latest roll out is providing opportunities to residents in a variety of accommodation types to be able to charge their electric vehicle locally and efficiently. Schemes like this are all about removing barriers to sustainable greener travel.
“We know that 39% of carbon emissions in the borough are from transport with road transport accounting for nearly all of this. Investing in high quality EV infrastructure can play an important part in helping us achieve net zero carbon emissions by 2041, in line with our emerging Net Zero Action Plan.”
Biton, a local Solihull resident said:
“After recently moving into a new flat with no allocated parking it was difficult to charge our electric vehicles. We’d previously been used to the convenience of having our own drive and charge points. However, now that Solihull Council have installed a charging bay close to our flat it’s made it much easier.
“With the new charger we can now just plug it in and leave it overnight, giving us a full charge early in the morning ready to go. I think it’s great that living in a flat no longer prevents us from owning and charging an electric car.”
Justin Meyer, Managing Director of SWARCO eVolt said:
“We are pleased to work with councils like Solihull who are committed to delivering reliable, convenient and affordable charging and it is encouraging to see that the new charging points are already having a positive impact for EV drivers. We hope the growing number of charging options across Solihull will give more and more people the confidence to choose electric and accelerate the transition to electric vehicles.”
Solihull Council is continuing to investigate demand for further EV charging points and how it can be rolled out to other parts of the borough in the future. If you are interested in more EV charging points coming to your area, please fill out the resident engagement survey here. Doing so will help the Council to better understand where there is demand for EV charging infrastructure.
Facilitating the widespread adoption of electric vehicles is a core part of the Council’s Electric Vehicle Strategy. The strategy forms part of the Council’s wider UK Central Solihull programme, delivering key infrastructure projects to support sustainable and inclusive growth across the borough.
To find your nearest charging point head to Zap Map and type in your postcode.