West Midlands mayor Richard Parker has announced that 10,000 connection points will be installed on the region’s roadsides.
There are over 4,000 public chargepoints in the region, the fifth highest in England (excluding London). The last 12 months have seen a 36% growth in the network and the West Midlands Combined Authority (WMCA) pointed out that statistics from the Department for Transport show the number of chargers in the West Midlands is growing faster than several other regions in the UK.
The region hosts the equivalent of 11 chargers per square mile. Transport for West Midlands (part of the WCMA) is working with local councils across the region to use the government’s local electric vehicles infrastructure (LEVI) funding to install more over the coming years.
Plans include nearly 200 chargepoints at nine ultra-fast ‘filling stations’ where drivers can power their vehicles with 100 miles’ range in under 15 minutes.
In January, plans were outlined for three of the stations at three sites along major routes in the north, east and south of the region, with outline planning permission given to the first on Chester Road in Erdington, Birmingham.
The scheme is part of the wider regeneration of the former GKN factory by developer Chancerygate.
Land has also been acquired for an ultra-rapid charging station on Bristol Road South in Longbridge, Birmingham and the third will be near the airport on Coventry Road in Sheldon straddling the Solihull and Birmingham border.
The sites will feature 20 ultra-fast chargers each. CGI mock-ups of the Chester Road (pictured above) and Bristol Road sites show solar PV arrays over the charging bays, although the plans did not specifically mention solar car ports, or where the electricity used for charging would be sourced.
There is a trend for regenerating a site by using it as a charging hub. Recently EV charging network Be.EV announced it would invest £4 million to regenerate the Failsworth petrol station, which has stood unused for 15 years. The project is part of Greater Manchester’s ten-year industrial strategy.
