The Government is investing £500 million to persuade more drivers switch to electric cars as part of efforts to reduce emissions. Sunderland is one of the UK’s leading cities helping to create the best conditions for electric vehicle drivers to use and charge their cars easily.
There are now more than 50 charging points, some of which are double bays, across the Sunderland City Council area. The infrastructure ranges from a network of easily-accessible points across the city centre to those installed in places like Herrington Country Park, a popular leisure destination for trips out of the city.
The latest Government investment will provide money between next year and 2020 for cities planning incentives for motorists to achieve ‘ultra low city status’, funding for research, and an extension of the grant scheme to encourage people to make the switch to electric cars.
The plans include £32 million to boost the current charging infrastructure, to end what is considered one of the major hurdles to electric car adoption – charging anxiety. Easy access to charging points around the UK is also a key component of the Go Ultra Low campaign, which is a key part of national efforts to persuade drivers to make the switch.
Paul Muir, Sunderland City Council’s Transportation Strategy officer, said: “Nissan’s Sunderland manufactured LEAF is one of more than 20 ultra low emission vehicles already on the road in the UK. Every major car manufacturer will have its own electric-powered vehicle by the end of next year.
“But when we talk to drivers, it becomes apparent that a lack of information is one of the main reasons more people aren’t swapping from conventional to electric vehicles. The council is now aiming to tackle that by providing user-friendly information on electric cars and how and where drivers can charge up their vehicles.”
Mr Muir said: “We have a good network of charging points across the city and we’ve now updated our website with more user-friendly information about electric motoring and a map showing drivers where they can charge their cars across Sunderland.
“By making people aware that the infrastructure is in place to support them, we hope to encourage more drivers to make the change.
“We are very lucky with our location next to Nissan and we are seeing an increasing number of electric cars on our roads already. It’s set to become much bigger in the next few years.
“But it is a chicken and egg situation. We are providing these charging points at good locations but we need to raise awareness of their availability and how to use them.”
Encouraging greater use of low emission vehicles is part of Sunderland’s strategy to become the UK’s national hub for the low carbon economy. In addition to jobs provided by the production of the Nissan Leaf in Sunderland, along with batteries to power the new generation of electric vehicles, the city is also pioneering a number of new initiatives.
The University of Sunderland’s Institute for Automotive and Manufacturing Advanced Practice (AMAP) is leading international research in the sector and last week saw the opening of the Future Technology Centre – a £4.5 million investment by Gateshead College and the Government’s Regional Growth Fund to provide facilities for research and development in the low carbon vehicle industry in Sunderland.
The city’s A19 Ultra Low Carbon Vehicles Corridor Enterprise Zone, on land owned by the City Council, has already attracted £14 million in investment to create new technologies and jobs. The money includes more than £5 million from the European Regional Development Fund Competitiveness Programme 2007- 2013, with match funding of £4.8m from Sunderland City Council and a £4m loan from the North East Local Enterprise Partnership’s Investment Fund.
Councillor Paul Watson, Leader of Sunderland City Council, said: “Sunderland is leading the way in creating the building blocks for the new low carbon economy.
“Encouraging people to use electric vehicles is a hugely important part of this and we’re hopeful that once people recognise the infrastructure is in place and know where to find charging points, we will see a rapid growth in electric car usage.”
