Council bosses are to meet next week to discuss plans to roll out more electric vehicle charging points in North Yorkshire as part of a multi-million-pound strategy.

The new strategy is to be adopted in a bid to make electric vehicle charging available to all, despite the challenges posed by the county’s rural areas.

A North Yorkshire Council spokesperson said it is hoped an enhanced network of charging points will support the uptake of electric vehicles over the next 10 years, in a bid to help tackle climate change.

The spokesperson said the strategy shows there are almost 4,000 electric vehicles registered in North Yorkshire and 225 publicly available charge points.

They predicted that 724 chargers will be needed by 2025, and 3,161 charge points by 2030.

The spokesperson went on to say that half of the charge points will need to be funded by the public sector at a cost of £10.3 million.

Members of the council’s executive are due to meet on Tuesday, May 2, to consider the findings of a public consultation that will help shape an electric vehicle charging infrastructure strategy.

The consultation asked the public about electric vehicle usage and gathered views on the council’s proposals and further ideas.

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£2.2 million in funding has been secured by the council from the national Local Electric Vehicle Infrastructure (LEVI) pilot scheme to install 70 charge points across the county.

They will be installed alongside battery storage units - charged by solar panels - in both on-street locations and larger charging hubs.

A further LEVI funding opportunity was announced in March, whereby the council is being invited to bid for £4.88 million.

If successful, funding must be spent by 2025.

Executive member for climate change, Cllr Greg White, said the roll-out of the electric vehicle infrastructure is “key to achieving the county’s carbon zero target”.

He said the findings of the consultation will be considered, and that the council “strive to give residents the confidence to consider electric as a credible choice”.

Executive member for highways and transport, Cllr Keane Duncan, said: “The rural nature of North Yorkshire means delivering charging points is more difficult, but we are ready to rise to the challenge to ensure our area does not fall behind.”

More information about the proposal can be found online at: https://www.northyorks.gov.uk/roads-parking-and-travel/electric-vehicle-charging