Car Charging Points Coming to West Kent

Sevenoaks and Tonbridge taking part in the scheme

Kent County Council is working with other local authorities in Kent to bring one of the largest networks of consistent charging points for electric vehicles to the county.

Six councils including, Sevenoaks, and Tonbridge and Malling Borough Council have signed up to the partnership.

Connected Kerb, one of the UK’s leading charging point providers, will aim to install 600 new charging points for electric vehicles over two years.

While KCC has led the project to coordinate consistent installations in the areas of the county signed up to the scheme, funding for the scheme comes from Connected Kerb.

The district and borough councils are providing over 150 car parking locations and will receive a revenue share from Connected Kerb. It’s planned that each car park will have four electric vehicle charging points, offering a mixture of fast 7Kwh and rapid 50Kwh, depending on the location.

Kent County Council’s Cabinet Member for Environment, Susan Carey, said:
“The number of electric vehicles in Kent is increasing and whilst many people are able to charge at home people also want the security of knowing they can recharge whilst out and about.

“I hope more people will consider making the switch to electric and contribute to reducing our collective carbon footprint.

“I’m also pleased that KCC has been able to bring together so many of Kent’s councils with Connected Kerb to create this network.”

Chris Pateman-Jones, CEO of Connected Kerb, said:
“We want to make EV charging work, that simple. Knowing you can arrive at virtually any location, at any time, in any vehicle and charge your battery without inconvenience or faff is the reality we must deliver to create an EV society.

“With forward-thinking partners like Kent County Council and the other authorities involved in the project, that is exactly what we are doing – simultaneously providing a blueprint for other local authorities across the UK to do the same.

“Our business model is designed to deliver ubiquitous charging, nationwide, providing reliable and affordable long-dwell infrastructure at scale.

“We want to ensure everyone – including those without access to off-street parking – finds EV charging as easy and mundane as plugging in their smart phone.”