Northumberland County Council has passed a motion to add 36 public electric vehicle charging points at 26 locations, extending the network the local authority already runs.
Of the new charge points, 78 per cent will be installed on land owned by the council. The remaining units will be placed on land held by third parties under licensing agreements.
The installation is being financed with just over £1 million in external funding from the City Region Sustainable Transport Settlement. Revenue generated by the chargers will be used to cover their running costs, management and maintenance, and the funding is intended to support the rollout through to 2029.
Installation and upkeep will be carried out by the council's in-house EV team. Richard Wearmouth, the cabinet member with responsibility for transport at Northumberland County Council, said it was good to see further investment in charging provision, adding that the county has one of the largest road networks in the country and that the necessary facilities are needed to help people get around.
The charging expansion comes a few months after 14 BYD BD11 battery-electric buses entered service in the region. Northumberland, a coastal area in the northeast of England that borders Scotland, is known for Hadrian's Wall and the Northumberland National Park.