Wiltshire's Local Electric Vehicle Infrastructure (LEVI) project

Background to the project

Wiltshire Council acknowledged a climate emergency in February 2019. We have since committed to becoming carbon neutral as an organisation by 2030 and are working to support the rest of the county with the same goal. We understand that reducing reliance on fossil fuels for transportation is key to meeting this target, so changing how people travel is essential.

Our Local Electric Vehicle Infrastructure (LEVI) project will contribute to meeting our climate targets. It aims to improve Wiltshire's EV charging network by focusing on areas with the greatest need for residential charging. The goal is to expand access to EV charging while staying updated on new technologies and trends to ensure sustainable progress.

Objectives and scope of the project

Funded by £3.89 million from central government, following our successful grant application, the LEVI project is part of a countywide initiative to install more EV chargepoints.

Key focus

With around a quarter of households in Wiltshire having to park on the street, the focus of the project is to increase the number of reliable on-street chargepoints across the county to avoid the need for residents to travel to public charging stations with inflated costs.

It also aims to boost commercialisation of, and investment in, the local charging infrastructure. While most chargepoints will be for residents without off-street parking, there will be some for non-residential groups but they will be a minority.

Current EV chargepoint provision

All Wiltshire Council public EV chargepoints are currently located off-street in council car parks, distributed to ensure areas with over 10,000 population have access to at least one.

Residents without off-street parking must access local public EVI which, in comparison to home charging, is more expensive, less convenient, and often just not locally available. Currently, there's only one on-street public charging site in Wiltshire, built by Sherston Parish Council. We are using this as a case study for insights to help with the rollout of the LEVI project.

The risk of DIY charging

In an attempt to charge from home, some residents are running cables across footpaths to charge their cars (known as 'trailing cables'). This is banned due to the trip hazard it creates and the risk of house fire due to unsuitable extension cables drawing a continuous high electrical load from a domestic supply.

A range of innovative cross pavement devices for on-street home charging are available on the market, however, the council recognises that one solution will not be suitable for all residents across the county.

Project stages and timelines

In summer 2024 Wiltshire Council submitted its application, and was awarded funding for, the second stage of our LEVI project. Our plan encompassed a business case, site selection criteria, compliance, and a tender document review, with proposals on how the money would be allocated.

With this funding in place, a procurement process will begin and will include the following steps:

the appointment of a Charge Point Operator (CPO)
contract development and agreement
submission of contract for approval [to who?]
approved contract signed by the council and the CPO
delivery of EV chargepoints begins

Community engagement throughout

A LEVI stakeholder communication and engagement plan will be run by Wiltshire Council throughout the entire project. It will start with a dissemination and capture phase and, once a CPO/tender partner has been identified, will move to a site location refinement phase. Both phases are explained in more detail below.

If you are a resident who does not have access to off-road parking and would like your property to be considered in our site selection process, see our Suggest a public electric vehicle chargepoint location page.

The Energy Saving Trust (EST)

The Energy Saving Trust (EST) are an independent organisation working to address the climate emergency. They work with individuals, businesses, communities and governments to provide leadership and expertise with the aim of delivering a zero-carbon society.

Fully funded by the Department for Transport (DfT), their Local Government Support Programme has a specialist transport team who are on hand to offer advice on EV strategy, procurement and sustainable travel as well as managing the OZEV On-street Residential Chargepoint Scheme (ORCS) and the Local Electric Vehicle Infrastructure Scheme (LEVI).

The EST has already collaborated with over 200 authorities by providing free and impartial advice, helping each work towards achieving their goal of becoming carbon neutral by 2030, and the recently established EVI Team at Wiltshire Council is already working with them to reach this target.

To find out more about the EST, and what role they play in helping authorities, visit The Energy Savings Trust (energysavingtrust.org.uk)