Over at Transport North East we’ve been working hard on our draft North East Zero Emission Vehicle (ZEV) Strategy with the aim of delivering reliable public zero emission vehicle charging infrastructure across the region, wherever people need it.

This work builds on the work we did back 2022 on the North East ZEV policy, which outlined initial proposals for how the region will compliment private sector charging facilities, co-ordinate action with local authority charging initiatives and build a partnership with Northern Powergrid.  

So, why are we doing this you may ask? Well, development of both the existing policy and the new draft strategy fulfils a commitment we made in our 2021-2035 North East Transport Plan to help deliver the five key objectives: 

• Carbon Neutral North East; 
• Overcome Inequality and Grow Our Economy; 
• Healthier North East; 
• Appealing sustainable transport choices; 
• Safe, secure network. 

Sounds good, right? We’re guessing your next question might be what is in the strategy? Well, the strategy represents a positive step to assist people who need to travel by car or van but wish to do so more sustainably, including those in rural areas or densely built urban locations with no off-street parking. Whilst our initial focus is primarily public electric vehicle (EV) infrastructure such as chargepoints for cars and vans, it also reflects the potential role of other ZEV infrastructure, such as Hydrogen refuelling for larger vehicles, and proposes some innovation schemes. We’re also mindful that future refreshes may strengthen reference to other zero emission vehicles and infrastructure – we’re never a team to stand still!

The strategy covers the period up to 2035, to reflect the UK Government’s September 2023 commitment to phase out the sale of new petrol and diesel cars and vans by 2035. It also sets out a proposed delivery plan with an initial list of ZEV schemes worth approximately £80m that the region will seek funding for. The proposed investments and initiatives broadly consist of:

• The creation of an EV partnership group with the public and private sector;
• New public EV chargepoint infrastructure;
• Maintenance and upgrading of the existing public chargepoint network;
• Increased awareness and information to help people to make the transition to ZEVs;
• Innovation schemes to develop ZEV technology;
• Flexible procurement framework (NEPO) available to help deliver public EV chargepoint infrastructure.

Not only that, but the delivery plan also sets out a new prioritised list of 221 potential sites for public chargepoints on publicly owned land as the result of a refreshed ‘enabling study’. This has helped inform the region of the investment into publicly available chargepoints which is required, plugging the gaps between public chargepoints installed by the private sector and home charging facilities, supporting local authority infrastructure plans. We very much see the delivery plan as a “live pipeline” of schemes and we fully expect it to continue to evolve over time. 

However, we know that the region’s public charging network simply will not be able to increase at the scale and pace required with public funding alone, which is why we’ve also proposed the creation of an EV partnership group, to help build momentum and achieve real results for residents and visitors within the region.

So, we’ve got a lot to do, but we’re eager to get moving! To help, we’d really appreciate it if you could take part in our consultation survey here. You can read the proposed North East Zero Emission Vehicle (ZEV) Strategy by clicking below.

Read and download the North East Zero Emission Vehicle (ZEV) Strategy

Or if you have a question or require documents in an alternative format, please call 0191 433 2973 or email [email protected].