Electric vehicle chargers double ahead of petrol and diesel car ban
There will be eight charges in Worcester's King Street car park, and another 12 in Tallow Hill
The number of electric vehicle chargers in Worcester is set to more than double.
Work starts this week to create 20 new charging bays in city car parks, with eight in King Street and 12 in Tallow Hill.
Work will get underway at King Street on Thursday 27 July, with Tallow Hill to follow from Friday 4 August.
A small number of spaces will be out of us until the work is finished in mid-September.
Worcester City Council said the two car parks have been chosen because they are in areas where residents do not currently have access to off-street charging.
Councillor Karen Lewing, chair of the council's environment committee, said the number of electric vehicles is growing as the ban on the sale of new petrol and diesel cars in 2030 gets closer.
"That means it's vital that Worcester can provide the vital infrastructure for people to be able to charge their EVs in the city, and this work is an important step in that direction," she said.
At King Street the eight new EV charging bays will replace nine standard parking spaces, while at Tallow Hill, 16 normal parking spaces will be making way for the 12 new EV charging bays.
The council currently has 12 charging points, in St Martin's Gate car park. Since going live in October 2021, there have been more than 17,032 individual charging sessions at the site, collectively powering electric vehicles to drive over 1,250,469 miles.
The council has said the carbon saving those charging sessions have produced, in comparison to the use of petrol and diesel vehicles, is the equivalent to the carbon captured by 1,448 trees.
A strategy for the rollout of more EV charging in Worcester was approved by the committee in June. This sets out how the council will use the latest data to identify the future uptake of electric vehicles in the city, pinpoint where charging infrastructure is required, and then work with partners to meet that demand.