Dorset Council’s plans to increase the number of public charge points for electric vehicles (EVs) in Dorset are now underway, with the first new charging unit installed in Sherborne this month, the council says.

This expansion to the existing charging network will see a combination of fast (22kW), rapid (50kW) and ultra-fast (150kW) charging units installed across Dorset; the latter allowing users to charge 100 miles in just ten minutes.

Increasing the number of EV charging points available to Dorset’s residents and visitors is a key action in the council’s ambitious Climate and Ecological Emergency Strategy and will be essential if Dorset hopes to meet the government target of becoming a carbon neutral county by 2050.

Councillor Ray Bryan, Dorset Council’s Portfolio Holder for Highways, Travel and Environment, said: ‘In rural counties like Dorset, car ownership is amongst the highest in the country.

‘By increasing the provision of electric vehicle charging points, we hope to provide the essential infrastructure needed to encourage more car owners in Dorset to choose electric vehicles over petrol and diesel equivalents.

‘Travel is one of the biggest contributors to our county’s carbon footprint, so, as part of our response to the climate and ecological emergency, it’s vital we make the changes needed to help tackle this.’

The new charging points, which are being installed by Joju Charging, are planned for the following locations:

Streche Road car park, Wareham

West Street car park, Corfe Castle

Leigh Road car park, Wimborne Minster

Durngate Street car park, Dorchester

Bonnets Lane (East) car park, Wareham

Culverhayes car park, Sherborne

Nothe car park, Weymouth

Lower Sea Lane car park, Charmouth

Yarn Barton car park, Beaminster

South Street car park, Bridport

Station Road car park, Sturminster Newton

Lodmoor car park, Weymouth

Purbeck Park, Norden car park, Corfe Castle

Durlston Country Park, Swanage

High Street, Cranborne

Church Lane car park, Blandford Forum

Penny’s Lodge car park, Ferndown

Rope Walks car park, Bridport

Top O’Town short stay car park, Dorchester

Swannery car park, Weymouth

Old Market Yard car park, Sherborne

Fairfield long stay car park, Dorchester

Holmbush car park, Lyme Regis

Funding to install and manage the new charge points is coming from a mixture of sources, with the main bulk of the cost (77%) being met by Joju and their funding partners Mer.  The remaining costs are being funded by the council through a mixture of developer funding and the Department of Transport’s On-Street Residential Charging Scheme (ORCS).

Chas Warlow, Head of Sales for Joju Charging, added: ‘Joju is delighted to be working with Dorset Council once again, following the success of our partnership with the council and Mer Charging UK on the first phase of the council’s roll-out of EV charging infrastructure.’

Once this phase of installations is complete, Dorset Council will have over 80 charging units in its sponsored network, helping to keep Dorset in the top 20% of charge point numbers in the country.   To view the locations of all Dorset’s charge points, visit www.zap-map.com.

Christopher Whitehouse, Dorset Council’s Transport Projects Officer, said of the newest installation at Old Market car park in Sherborne: ‘As project manager, it’s really exciting to see the first charge point of this year’s ambitious installation programme go live.

‘We hope this will encourage householders without space for their own charge point to consider making the switch to an electric car.’

Plans to extend Dorset’s charging network further are already taking shape, with the council announcing last month it had successfully secured funding to improve charging infrastructure in more rural parts of the county.  This next phase of work is expected to begin in the new year.

For more information on electric vehicle charge points in Dorset, including where you can find them, how to use them, and how much they cost, visit the Dorset Council website.