A strategy looking to develop the future of the electric vehicle charging network across Staffordshire will be discussed by councillors this week.
It is supported by Staffordshire County Council and features input from local authorities, private providers and the energy sector.
As well as mapping where vehicles can be charged, the strategy also details things such as commuting routes, places of interest where cars can be plugged in and suggests suitable locations for chargers going forward.
It comes as sales of new petrol and diesel cars is set to be restricted from 2030.
Staffordshire County Council’s cabinet member for highways and transport, Cllr David Williams, said:
“The UK is already embarking on the transition towards electric vehicle use which is good news in terms of our combined efforts to reduce carbon emissions and improve air quality.
“As national legislation draws nearer it’s important that we take steps to enable the right infrastructure is in place across the county.
“We have an important role to play, working with our district and borough colleagues, to determine what this will look like based on the evidence gathered.
“Our strategy helps us to identify where the most appropriate places for charging points could be and how we will work with the private sector to facilitate successful delivery.
“We can work with businesses to encourage workplace charging and residents to support off-street charging, in addition to people and organisations making planning applications.”
Cllr David Williams, Staffordshire County Council
Currently, 97% of the households across Staffordshire do not have off-street parking are not within a convenient walk of a public charging point.
As of October this year, there are 300 public charge points in Staffordshire, and the strategy sets out grow this to 3,000 over the next seven years.
In March this year, the Government published its national electric vehicle infrastructure strategy, which commits an additional £620million to support the transition from petrol and diesel vehicles.
“We understand that electricity may not be the only type of alternative power for vehicles in future years, but this strategy needs to focus on national policy.
“We anticipate funding will shortly become available from the Government to support our work to put the strategy in place.”
Cllr David Williams, Staffordshire County Council
The strategy will be discussed by members of the county council’s prosperous overview and scrutiny committee on Friday (16th December).