Out-of-order electric vehicle chargers across the former Hambleton district are finally set to be replaced as part of a £129,500 council programme.
North Yorkshire Council is preparing to overhaul older charging infrastructure after acknowledging problems with previous arrangements, including operators going into liquidation and the installation of non-compliant equipment.
A total of 32 EV charging points were installed in car parks in Bedale, Northallerton, Stokesley and Thirsk in 2023 as part of a deal struck by the former Hambleton District Council prior to it being merged into North Yorkshire Council.
However, due to the company tasked with installing the charging points, EVS Energy Ltd, becoming insolvent, North Yorkshire Council hasn’t been able to access user manuals so it can transfer the work to another contractor.
A council report says lessons have been learned from previous schemes.
The council has also experienced non-compliant infrastructure being installed, as well as equipment which could not subsequently be transferred to other operators.
Other arrangements involved multiple subcontractors being responsible for different elements of managing, operating and maintaining chargers.
The report states: “As a result of the failings of these systems, we are keen to avoid replicating those choices.”
Under the new programme, faulty charging equipment in the former Hambleton area will be removed and replaced with new AMP EV chargers, supported by a FUUSE back-office system.
Similar replacement work will take place in Craven, while the management of existing infrastructure in Ryedale and Selby will transfer to the new system.
The total countywide programme is expected to cost £204,611.45, with Hambleton accounting for £129,500 of the expenditure.
The Hambleton work will be entirely funded from a £175,000 York and North Yorkshire Combined Authority Gainshare grant being used towards the wider programme.
NY Highways is being appointed to oversee the work, with AMP EV supplying the charging equipment and FUUSE providing back-office and customer support.
The council considered removing all the legacy chargers and waiting for its wider Local Electric Vehicle Infrastructure programme.
However, officers said this would cause “extensive delays” and leave existing electric vehicle users without supporting infrastructure.
The replacement scheme is intended to provide a more reliable network, with 24-hour customer support, maintenance requirements and improved fault and repair response arrangements.
Be the first to comment