SHROPSHIRE has been left out of £3 million in Government and industry funding for increasing electric vehicle (EV) chargepoints in the West Midlands.

Transport Minister Jesse Norman MP announced on Tuesday, February 21 that the government will install up to a further 227 chargepoints in the short-term, while working to support the West Midlands Combined Authority to deliver many more in the long term. 

However, a spokesman for the Department of Transport, confirmed that Shropshire did not receive any money in this round of funding.

According to the Government, the money will expand the current Local Electric Vehicle Infrastructure (LEVI) Pilot, boost the existing On-Street Residential Chargepoint Scheme (ORCS).

And to help councils, like the West Midlands Combined Authority, secure dedicated resource to develop in-house expertise and capability to coordinate chargepoint plans and work with private operators – delivering a more comprehensive and reliable network of chargepoints for drivers.

Mr Norman said: "The Government is giving local authorities across England additional help today to energise their chargepoint roll-out plans.  

“Today’s commitment will lead to thousands of new chargers being installed, and plans for tens of thousands extra in due course, so that more people than ever can make the transition to using EVs”.  

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The announcement is part of a total £56 million in government and industry funding to increase electric vehicle chargepoints across the country. 

Part of this includes the £8 million LEVI Capability Fund which will equip local authorities with the skills and ambition to scale up their plans when it comes to their charging strategy. 

The funding will help the West Midlands Combined Authority work in tandem with private business, and chargepoint operators will drive the sustainable growth of local networks, building and utilising their collective knowledge and expertise to deliver the most ambitious chargepoints plans for their area. 

Today also sees the Government bringing forward a further £7 million funding for the existing On-Street Residential Chargepoint Scheme, bringing the total funding this year to £37 million. 3,000 chargepoints have already been installed under ORCS with a further 10,000 in the pipeline. 

Several additional funding schemes are already open and available to help install chargepoints for electric vehicles with government support, including the Workplace Charging Scheme, Landlord grant and the Private/Rental grant.  

The Government has already spent more than £2 billion to support the move to zero-emission vehicles, helping drive forward the decarbonisation of the UK’s entire transport system.