DUDLEY Council is to install 37 new on-street electric vehicle charging points across the borough starting later this year.

The authority consulted on 53 proposed electric charge point locations in November 2022 and 37 sites which had majority support have been chosen to host charge points.

The metre-high posts have been designed to sit at the edge of the footway for residents who do not have access to off-street parking.

Council chiefs say the £420k scheme, funded through an Office of Zero Emission Vehicles (OZEV) grant and a charge point operator contribution, aims to introduce charge points to help people who wish to own an electric vehicle but don’t have their own drive or access to off-street charging facilities.

The charge points will charge at 7kW which for many cars would provide a full charge in roughly six hours and they will include a Pay-As-You-Go payment system.

Councillor Dr Rob Clinton, Dudley Council’s cabinet member for climate change, said: “The installation of these charge points will form an important role in Dudley borough’s mixed approach to EV charging.

"They will not only help those residents who would struggle to charge an electric vehicle from their home but will also help us to reduce emissions as part of the Black Country Ultra-Low Emission Vehicle Strategy.”

For more information visit www.dudley.gov.uk/evconsultation

As the rolling programme begins, contractors will provide notices near the locations to inform residents and write to those in the immediate vicinity of the upcoming works.

Councillor Damian Corfield, the authority’s cabinet member for highways and environmental services, added: “The charge points are small and discreet and should take around four days to fit so will cause minimal disruption to residents.”

A consultation for proposals for further charge points in more locations across the borough is set to launch in the coming weeks.