Up to 500 lamp-posts in Derbyshire streets where homes do not have driveways could be fitted with electric vehicle charging points. Derbyshire County Council has identified that a key barrier for many residents getting an electric car is that even if they install a charging point, they do not have a driveway on which to park their vehicle.

This would then mean residents have to drag a cable from their house to a car parked on the street, which carries the risk of someone else using your electricity to charge their own vehicle and also presents a hazard to people walking on the pavement. The council describes the scheme as an “innovative solution in some of the county’s more traditional housing areas”.

These fittings would deliver slow charging at 5kWh, which the council says is similar to a home charging unit. It says: “Although the selection of sites will be predominantly led by resident demand, joint work will be undertaken with the council’s highways service to ensure use of its assets is appropriate and that any potential for revenue income is maximised.

Read more: Public electric vehicle chargers in Derbyshire only used 12% of the time

“In this way, as electric vehicle uptake and subsequent demand for on-street charging increases, a strategic approach to network expansion will be adopted.” The council is to use Oxford City Council’s list of suppliers to carry out the works, so that it saves on carrying out its own procurement process.

It says there would be no cost to the authority from the lamp-post charging point adaptors, with the appointed contractor to pay for installation, operation and maintenance of the new facilities. Meanwhile, the council says, after looking at more than 400 car parks across the county, it says it has found 60 potential sites which would cater for an additional 300 charging points.

Each location would have a different mix of slow, fast or rapid charging points based on the destination, with rapid facilities prioritised for “key transit corridors”. The council will work with district and borough authorities and charging point providers to set up these new facilities.

It has £1.65 million to contribute to these joint projects. In July last year, the council said the county urgently needed more, well-placed charging points, with vehicle usage increasing rapidly. However, it also said public charging points were only being used 12 per cent of the time, on average.

In February last year, Midlands Connect (a transport body working closely with councils and business enterprises in the region) published a study showing that Derby could have 39,942 electric cars on its roads by 2030 – a 1,522 per cent increase on from current levels Meanwhile, the Derbyshire county area (excluding Derby) could have 173,643 electric cars on its roads by 2030 – a 2,870 per cent rise. It forecast that 819 new charging points will be needed in Derby to keep pace with the boom, while the Derbyshire county area (excluding Derby) will need a further 3,627 extra public chargers.

The county council has listed 77 potential sites include locations in Alfreton, Ashbourne, Bakewell, Baslow, Belper, Bolsover, Brimington, Buxton, Castleton, Chesterfield, Clay Cross, Clowne, Dronfield, Dunston, Eckington, Elvaston, Etwall, Glossop, Hadfield, Hathersage, Hayfield, Heanor, Ilkeston, Little Longstone, Long Eaton, Matlock, Melbourne, Middleton, New Mills, Overseal, Pinxton, Repton, Ripley, Shardlow, Shipley, Shirebrook, South Normanton, Staveley, Swadlincote, Whaley Bridge, Whitwell and Woodville. These are the potential car park locations which could be gaining rapid electric vehicle charging points – 50kW+:

• Rogers Lane East, Alfreton

• Shawcroft, Ashbourne

• Granby Road rear car park, Bakewell

• Granby Road front car park, Bakewell

• Agricultural Business Centre, Bakewell

• Nether End, Bakewell

• Town End, Bolsover

• High Street car park, Brimington

• Spring Gardens, Buxton

• The Slopes, Buxton

• Durrant Road and Brewery Street car park, Chesterfield

• Queen’s Park Annexe car park, Chesterfield

• No. 2 Market Street, Clay Cross

• Bridge Street, Clay Cross

• Recreation Close, Clowne

• Church Street, Clowne

• Dronfield Sports Centre

• Venture House, Dunston

• Eckington Swimming Pool

• Etwall Leisure Centre

• Edward Street, Glossop

• Ilkeston Road, Heanor

• Wilmot Street, Heanor

• Castleton

• East Street, Ilkeston

• Lower Bath Street, Ilkeston

• Stanton Road, Ilkeston

• Beaconsfield Street, Long Eaton

• New Street, Long Eaton

• Waverley Street, Long Eaton

• High Street, Melbourne

• Torr Top, New Mills

• Woodville Road, Overseal

• Victoria Road, Pinxton

• Burton Road, Repton

• Market Place, Ripley

• Ashbourne Street, Shirebrook

• Staveley Housing car park, Staveley

• Rink Drive, Swadlincote

• Market Street, Swadlincote

• Whaley Bridge railway station

• Blacksmiths Lane, Woodville

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