Northumberland County Council has passed a motion to add 36 public electric vehicle charging points across 26 locations, extending the network it already operates in the northeast of England.
Most of the new hardware will sit on land the council owns: 78 per cent of the charge points are to be installed on council property, while the remaining units will be placed on third-party land under licensing agreements.
The build-out is backed by just over £1 million in external funding from the City Region Sustainable Transport Settlement, with the council planning to roll out the charge points until 2029. Revenue generated by the chargers will be used to meet their running costs, management and maintenance rather than being treated as net income.
Installation and upkeep will be handled by the council's in-house EV team. Richard Wearmouth, the cabinet member with responsibility for transport, said the further investment in charging provision was welcome, noting that the county has one of the largest road networks in the country and that the necessary facilities are needed to help people get around.
The charging announcement follows other sustainable transport work in the region: 14 BYD BD11 battery-electric buses entered service a few months ago.