Council unveils plans to expand Electric Vehicle Charging network

Cllr Ben Miskell, Chair of the Transport, Regeneration and Climate Committee, standing beside an existing electric vehicle charging point

Charging your electric vehicle in and around Sheffield may be about to get easier with a proposal for 11 new on-street and public car park charging points. Under the proposal, six new on-street locations and three car parks are to have the points installed, increasing the network by 22 bays. 

Sheffield currently has: 

• 236 public charge points 
• 67 public charge points are rapid chargers 
• 79 public charge points in the city are operated by Sheffield City Council 
• 50 of the Council-owned charge points are fast chargers  
• 29 of the Council-owned charge points are rapid chargers 

Members of the Transport, Regeneration and Climate Committee are to discuss the proposal to expand the network when they meet on Wednesday 13 March. 

If the plans are approved, the following on-street sites will receive a double headed chargepoint each: 

• Louth Road, Greystones 
• Slate Street, Lowfield/Heeley 
• Upwood Road, Hillsborough 
• Bishopsholme Road, Fir Vale 
• Flodden Street, Crookes 
• Balmoral Road, Woodhouse 

A further 10 points will be installed in car parks in Hope Street, Stocksbridge, Freedom Road, Walkley, and Station Road, Darnall. 

By 2030, it is anticipated that between 8 million and 11 million hybrid or electric cars will be in use in the UK, with that figure expected to reach 25.5 million by 2040 if uptake is aligned with the Road to Zero targets, according to the Energy Saving Trust. 

The latest additions to Sheffield’s charging point network have been selected because of requests made to the Council from members of the public but also to place the facilities across the broader area where electric vehicles are known or are expected to be used. 

Cllr Ben Miskell, Chair of the Transport, Regeneration and Climate Committee, said: “The use of electric vehicles around Sheffield will be a complete game changer for the city and will go a long way to reducing air pollution and protecting people from the effects of breathing in dirty air. We have already seen the number of the most polluting vehicles in our Clean Air Zone fall by two thirds within the first year of the project and the Council has been helping businesses clean up their fleet with several grant schemes. 

“Expanding our electric vehicle charging network in this way will make it easier for people who don’t have driveways to make the switch from petrol or diesel vehicles to the cleaner, greener hybrid or electric ones. 

“Removing those obstacles and encouraging people to make the switch will help us decarbonise Sheffield for the benefit of all of us and ultimately gives people more choice about how they travel across the city” 

Requests for EV charging infrastructure can be made to the Council directly via the Electric Vehicle Public Charger Demand Tracker on the Council’s website.