Towns and villages across Norfolk benefit from installation of Electric Vehicle Charge Points

Norfolk County Council is driving the transition to greener motoring by working with partners to install 34 new Electric Vehicle (EV) charge points across the county, and at Norwich Park and Ride sites.   

Norfolk's new charge points will ensure that it's not just our urban areas that are fit for the future and that towns and villages across the county are not left behind in the EV revolution. This latest round of installations brings the total number of public charging stations in Norfolk to an impressive 772. On a national level, the UK recently celebrated the installation of its 75,000th public EV charger, claiming the position as Europe's largest EV market last year. With a new charger added to the UK network every 29 minutes.  

The latest installs have been completed as part of 'Plug in Norfolk', a community-focused initiative, which has been helping businesses and organisations access EV charging across the county. The project, led by Norfolk County Council in partnership with the charging network Electroad, has seen EV charge points brought to locations including Sheringham, Poringland, Martham and  Worstead. Meaning parish council-owned sites and community centres in Norfolk now offer convenient places to charge electric vehicles.   

Councillor Graham Plant Cabinet member for highways, infrastructure and transport, at Norfolk County Council said: "It's great to see this important infrastructure installed county-wide. We're ambitious for the whole of Norfolk and want to ensure that it's not just our urban areas that have the infrastructure needed for the future.  Residents regularly tell us that the lack of charge points is a key barrier to purchasing an electric vehicle, by providing these charge points and making them easier to access means more people can choose cleaner, greener electric vehicles."  

Alongside the EV Chargers installed by Norfolk County Council, South Norfolk Council have been a key partner in the latest rollout using their own grant funding alongside Norfolk County Council's various EV funding streams. They have supported the installation of charge points across the South Norfolk area and, in some cases, solar arrays at community venues such as village halls. The two Councils have collaborated to facilitate the delivery of several sites, most of which have elected to become part of Plug in Norfolk.  

South Norfolk District Councillor, Keith Kiddie said: "The Council understands that electric vehicles are not the future, they are the present. South Norfolk Council has led the way in providing charging points in our market towns making it easier for people to top up while they shop. With more electric cars on the roads, it's vital that we have a comprehensive network of charging points available, allowing our residents to take full advantage of this exciting technology and these grants have made those extra charging points possible."  

There are also exciting plans to install solar car ports and electric vehicle chargers at all the Norwich Park and Ride sites owned by Norfolk County Council, meaning drivers will be able to charge their cars and then hop on the bus into town!  

These charge points will be accessible to everyone, making it easier for the public to transition to sustainable electric vehicles. Norfolk County Council has carefully chosen the best locations for these charge points, working closely with communities to ensure they do not obstruct footways, including those used by pushchairs and wheelchairs.  

This phase of installations has been paid for through a combination of Local Member Funding, On-Street Residential Chargepoint Scheme funding (ORCS), Local Electric Vehicle Infrastructure (LEVI) Funding and money from the Norfolk Investment Framework (NIF).