Merton to become best-equipped Outer London borough for electric vehicles

Merton Council, in partnership with charge point operator char.gy, has announced it has installed over 250 new on-street lamppost charge points for electric vehicles – half-way towards its target of over 500 additional on-street chargers.

The remainder will be installed across the borough during the next four to six weeks, using Government funding of £753,000 from the On-street Residential Charging Scheme, supplemented by a £251,000 investment from char.gy.

The installations will triple the number of public charge points in Merton from 259 at the start of January 2023 to 789 – vastly improving charge point access for all residents. This will ensure Merton has more public chargers for residents than any other outer London borough.

The new partnership with char.gy is designed to improve local air quality and make EV ownership practical for residents, especially for those without off-street parking. It is also a key part of Merton’s progression to being a net zero borough by 2050.

The deployment covers nearly all homes without driveways and gives a total of 78,000 Merton homes at least one charge point within a two-minute walk of their front door. Installation includes at least six accessible chargers which can be used by residents who have a disabled parking bay on their street.

The project will provide the local authority with a revenue stream from charging services, with all maintenance and operation costs covered by char.gy.

Councillor Stephen Alambritis, Merton Council’s Cabinet Member for Transport, said, “We are committed to making it easy and accessible for people across the borough to access EV charging near their homes and where they work. This installation is a significant step towards providing the on-street access to EV charging points needed in Merton.

“Our ambition is to make Merton one of the best places in London to rent, own, or share an electric vehicle – this is crucial to our efforts to reduce emissions in the borough and clean up the air we all breathe.”

Richard Stobart, founder of char.gy said, “As a Merton resident myself, I’m delighted that char.gy has been included in Merton’s plan to provide residents in the borough with a three-fold substantial increase in on-street charging infrastructure. We believe our no-cost, quick installation and shared revenues for councils, together with our reliable, renewables-based charging service for motorists, makes us the ideal partner for local authorities looking to make a paradigm shift in neighbourhood electrification.

“This project shows how councils across the country can scale up their public charging quickly and get the best possible coverage with the extra funds the Government has recently committed to supporting public charging in residential areas.”