Agenda item

Report of the Director of Transportation and Highways

The Cabinet considered a report of the Director of Transportation and Highways which sought approval to make three separate bid submissions to the Office for Zero Emission Vehicles (OZEV) for up to £5.5m from the Local Electric Vehicle Infrastructure (LEVI) fund and the Onstreet Residential Chargepoint Scheme (ORCS).  If successful, these bids could deliver a further 500 on street residential chargepoints along with 2 charging hubs that will include rapid chargers, solar panels and battery storage.  The LEVI Pilot project proposals were attached as Appendix 1 to the report.

The report indicated that this investment will enable the City to significantly enhance charging facilities in the City and maintain our position as the best city in the UK in which to own an electric vehicle.  The Council has already successfully received £2.8 million funding from the Office for Zero Emission Vehicles (OZEV) between 2019 and 2022 under the Onstreet Residential Chargepoint Scheme title leading to a network of 403 chargers, operational to date with 308 being operational by December 2022, which will take the total to 711 chargers with 949 charging bays, the largest of any city outside of London.

The promotion of electric vehicles is a key element of the Council’s strategy to decarbonise transport to tackle the causes of climate change and to improve air quality. The City is also home to many cutting-edge automotive companies and innovative organisations like the UK Battery Industrialisation Centre; therefore, the promotion of electrification of transport will support economic growth.

Approval was also sought to procure a further electric vehicle charge point supplier who will provide higher rated charge points, solar panels, and battery storage services as well as additional on street chargers given the Council’s current contracts have reached their maximum expenditure.

Cabinet welcomed the proposals detailed in the report.

RESOLVED that 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 a bid to OZEV for up to £2m LEVI Pilot funding and if successful become the accountable body and enter into relevant funding and legal agreements;

2)  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 a bid to OZEV for up to £2m LEVI full funding and if successful become the accountable body and enter into relevant funding and legal agreements;

3)  Delegates authority to the Director of Transportation and Highways and Director of Law and Governance, following consultation with the Cabinet Member for City Services and the Cabinet Member for Jobs, Regeneration and Climate Change, to submit a bid to OZEV for up to £1.5m ORCS funding and if successful become the accountable body and enter into relevant funding and legal agreements;

4)  Delegates authority to the Director Transport and Highways, following consultation with the Cabinet Member for City Services and the Cabinet Member for Jobs, Regeneration and Climate Change to approve charging point locations across the City;

5)  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 procure a contract over a potential contract term of up to 25 year period, which includes mechanism regarding revenue sharing between the two parties;

6)  Authorises the City Solicitor to undertake the necessary due diligence and entry into the contract(s) with the successful service provider/private consortium;

7)  If the Bids are successful, agrees that the schemes are added into the 5-year capital programme through the quarterly financial monitoring cycle;