Middlesbrough Council selects ubitricity to deploy 160 on-street EV charge points
Middlesbrough Council has appointed ubitricity to supply, install and manage up to 160 EV charge points in 90 locations across the town.
The deployment, the first of its kind in the North East of England delivering public EV charging at scale, is part of a 15-year contract between the Council and ubitricity, a wholly owned subsidiary of Shell, and will enable residents without private driveways to charge their cars.
The charge points, which take as little as two hours to install, will be deployed from January 2024 in a mixture of existing bollards and lampposts across Linthorpe, Newport, Ayresome and the University area, and will charge at speeds of up to 5kW. Funding for the project has come from the UK Government’s On-Street Residential Charge point Scheme (ORCS), and Middlesbrough Council will receive a 5% revenue share throughout the lifetime of the contract.
Cllr Peter Gavigan, Executive Member for Environment at Middlesbrough Council, said: “This initiative will make it much easier for people to charge their electric vehicle in a simple and convenient way, while removing what we know is a significant barrier to people choosing to go electric.
“To make sure people in Middlesbrough have the best access to a charging point, most will be installed on residential streets which either have no parking restrictions, or in those areas where resident parking schemes are in place.
“We aim to tackle climate change head on in Middlesbrough and schemes like this one underline that commitment.”
Toby Butler, CEO at ubitricity, said: “Access to EV charging infrastructure is a vital component in removing the barriers to mass adoption of EVs, and it’s exciting to see towns and cities across the UK working hard to make sure residents and visitors can have convenient access to public charge points.
“We’re excited to welcome Middlesbrough to our growing list of council partners across the country, and look forward to laying the groundwork across the town to support residents’ switch to EV.”
