The final EVCP of the Park & Charge Oxfordshire project went live late last year at Claremont short stay car park in Bicester. It marks the completion of the 20th hub successfully delivered by VolkerSmart Technologies and Bicester-based company, EZ-Charge, providing a total of 250 EVCP across the county.

Since March 2022, VolkerSmart Technologies has been installing EVCP in the county, as well as all associated electrical and civils infrastructure and in-house independent connections to the local DNO, at a value of £1.2 million.

Oxfordshire has the highest uptake of electric vehicles in the country, with 32 per cent of all new vehicles sold there in August 2022 being fully electric.

So far, the hubs have seen very promising usage levels, with over 3,300 individual charging sessions taking place across the Park & Charge network in October alone – a 23 per cent rise on the previous month.

The 20 Park & Charge locations, each containing between 10 and 16 EVCP, are:

• Cattle Market and Claremont car parks, Bicester
• Curtis Place car park, Kidlington
• Windsor Street and Calthorpe Street West car parks, Banbury
• Woodford Way car park, Witney
• Black Bourton car park, Carterton
• Hensington Road car park, Woodstock
• Back Lane car park, Eynsham
• New Street car park, Chipping Norton
• Cattlemarket and Goldsmith’s Lane car parks, Wallingford
• Kings Road and Greys Road car parks, Henley
• Southern Road car park, Thame
• West St Helens, Audlett Drive and Cattle Market car parks, Abingdon
• Portway car park, Wantage
• Southampton Road car park, Faringdon.

Councillor Pete Sudbury, Oxfordshire County Council’s cabinet member for climate change delivery and environment, said: “The reaction from Oxfordshire residents has been overwhelmingly positive, from EV drivers and prospective ones alike.

Park & Charge is enabling local people who don’t have private off-street parking to have a convenient location to charge their EVs overnight, meaning more Oxfordshire residents have the opportunity to drive electric. It’s another great reason to make sure your next vehicle is an EV.”

Phil Shadbolt OBE, chairman and chief executive of EZ-Charge, said: “This is a network the whole country is looking to for inspiration and one everyone in the county should feel incredibly proud of.

“Although this feels like the end of the journey, it is really only the beginning. We now need to double down on our efforts to increase the availability of charging and variety of charging options at county and national level.”

David Easton, operations director for VolkerSmart Technologies, said: “We are proud to have delivered this very exciting project for Oxfordshire County Council and EZ-Charge. Our team has worked tirelessly, providing its specialist knowledge and experience to mitigate disruption to car park users and local businesses, while the installations were taking place. These chargers will provide a lasting benefit to Oxfordshire residents, who are now fully equipped to adopt electric vehicles, as we strive towards net carbon-zero.”