Issue - meetings

Report of the Director of Transportation and Highways

The Cabinet considered a report of the Director of Transportation and Highways, which would also be considered at the meeting of Council on 21^st March 2023, that sought approval to make bid submissions to the Office for Zero Emission Vehicles (OZEV) for up to £5m from the funding portfolio set aside to facilitate rollout of electric vehicle charging units and associated infrastructure.

This investment would enable the Council to further enhance charging facilities in Coventry and maintain its position as the best city in the UK in which to own an electric vehicle. The Council had already secured £2.8 million funding from OZEV between 2019 and 2022 under the Electric Vehicle Charging Infrastructure funding initiative (“EVCI”), leading to a network of 568 chargers, with a further 157 being operational by January 2023, taking the total to 721 chargers capable of charging 959 electric vehicles at any one time. This represented the largest network of any city outside London.

To deliver this network, Coventry City Council had so far entered into two Contracts to provide, install, maintain, and operate charge points under the EVCI scheme. However, the Council had now reached the maximum expenditure permitted under the current contracts, meaning it was necessary to procure another electric vehicle charge point supplier.

The Council published a tender on 22 November 2022 to procure a charge point operator to deliver further residential charge points across the city via a concession contract to ensure readiness where the Council was successful in securing further funding from OZEV.

RESOLVED that the Cabinet:

1)  Delegates authority to the Director of Transportation and Highways, following consultation with the Cabinet Member for City Services and the Cabinet Member for Jobs, Regeneration and Climate Change, to submit bids to OZEV for up to £5m EVCI funding and, if successful, to finalise the terms of, and enter into, the relevant legal agreements (including the procured concession agreement) as well as any associated documents deemed necessary.

2)  Delegates authority to the Director of Transportation and Highways, following consultation with the Ward Members and Cabinet Member for City Services and the Cabinet Member for Jobs, Regeneration and Climate Change, to approve charging point locations across the City.

3)  Agrees to add any successful funding bids up to £5million to the Council’s capital programme.