A public consultation into plans for electric vehicle charging points across North Yorkshire looks set to be launched.
Senior councillors on North Yorkshire County Council’s executive are expected to agree next week to start the consultation this month.
It will lead to the creation of an electric vehicle charging infrastructure strategy to expand the infrastructure.
Latest figures show there are almost 4,000 electric vehicles registered in North Yorkshire, and 225 publicly available charge points, and take-up of electric vehicles is rising rapidly each year.
County council officers forecast that 3,161 charge points will be needed by 2030, of which half will need to be funded by the public sector at an estimated cost of £10.3 million.
Cllr Greg White, the council’s executive member for climate change, said:
“The ownership of electric vehicles in North Yorkshire is increasing quickly. This is encouraging – to achieve the county’s ambitious carbon zero target, for smaller vehicles, we need to make the switch to electric as close as possible to 2030.
“But North Yorkshire faces particular challenges, partly due to its rural nature and partly the lack of off-street parking in some villages and urban residential areas.
“We need to understand these needs and the challenges they present and be ready to meet them. That’s why we want to seek the input and feedback of the public to help to shape our strategy for the coming years.”
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The council has already secured more than £2 million from the government to finance the expansion of the county’s network of electric vehicle charging points.
In August, the authority revealed that the Harrogate district would get 10 chargers.
The chargers are part of the new Local EV Infrastructure (LEVI) pilot scheme where the council and industry work in partnership.
It was previously suggested that Markington, Pateley Bridge and Conyngham Hall in Knaresborough could receive new chargepoints. However, this has yet to be confirmed.