Green policies support electric vehicles

The government has recently launched a number of new policy documents designed to support the use of electric vehicles including the building of chargepoints to deal with consumer anxiety over driving range and chargepoints in new build properties.

The Road to Zero document, the National Infrastructure Assessment and the Automated and Electric Vehicles Act have all been released during July 2018 and are backed up by the Charging Infrastructure Investment Fund, which offers a total of £400m which is split between the private sector and the government. These put in place a number of powers that the government has to ensure more charging points - especially at service stations across the motorway network.

As part of these initiatives, the government has stated that they want to support the development of one of the best EV infrastructure networks in the world, however, they are encouraging the private sector to take the lead on the implementation. If the private sector fails to provide the infrastructure, the government can use its powers to insist on installations.

In the construction sector, there is to be a consultation on including chargepoints where there is currently on-street parking to encourage those without a driveway to use EVs and whether all new homes should include a chargepoint. The consultation will look into Permitted Development rights in England for the installation of chargepoints in off-street areas and on amending Building Regulations to require chargepoints for new non-residential buildings. Funding is also being provided to allow councils to provide taxi chargepoints.

The National Infrastructure Commission believes that chargepoints should be visible and rapid to encourage users to trust the service and to prevent anxiety about a lack of places to charge their vehicles. This core network should be in place by 2020.

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https://www.gov.uk/government/news/government-launches-road-to-zero-strategy-to-lead-the-world-in-zero-emission-vehicle-technology