Park and Charge Oxfordshire

Approximately a third of households in Oxfordshire live in terraced properties in urban centres and historic market towns. Many of these residents rely on on-street parking and are unable to install a private home chargepoint.

Park and Charge Oxfordshire is one solution being developed by the Oxfordshire Innovation Hub to provide convenient access to public charging for these residents.

Energy Saving Trust has produced this case study in support of both the Local Government Support Programme and the Oxfordshire Park and Charge project’s goal of disseminating best practice and sharing knowledge amongst local authorities. We will also be facilitating a series of best practice electric vehicle (EV) project webinars, one of which will feature this project.

Building on the experience gained during the Go Ultra Low Oxford and other projects, the county council developed the Oxfordshire Electric Vehicle Infrastructure Strategy.

The strategy promotes a hierarchy of electric vehicle charging solutions for residents and businesses without off-street parking. It prioritises EV charging hubs in car parks and other solutions that avoid generating additional street clutter or management and maintenance challenges.

Park and Charge Oxfordshire is a £5.2 million programme, including £3.4 million of Innovate UK funding. By March 2022, the aim is to install 280 7-22 kW fast chargepoints in car park locations across the county to create 24 overnight charging hubs.

The first installations in Bicester went live in May 2021, comprising six double-headed chargepoints and 12 bays.

Local people will be able to use the overnight hubs at a discounted rate, before moving their car the following day, freeing up the bay for daytime visitors. The bays will be bookable to ensure their availability and promote good utilisation.

Working with the district councils, the county council has developed a mapping tool to prioritise car parks for fast charging hubs where demand is likely to be high. Information such as car ownership, parking restrictions, rates of off-street parking, socio-demographics and electrical supply information has enabled the shortlisting of sites.

The ambition is to convert 7.5% of local authority-managed public car park spaces to provide fast or rapid EV charging by 2025.

Find out more about Park and Charge Oxfordshire.