Henry Smith MP has welcomed confirmation from the Department for Transport of £56 million of support to continue the expansion of electric vehicle (EV) charging across the country.

This includes a boost for West Sussex County Council which will receive £1,786,464 of Local EV Infrastructure (LEVI) funding to support local charging infrastructure.

This forms part of the Government’s £22 million extension to the LEVI Pilot, which will deliver 2,400 chargepoints and 600 gullies and leverage nearly £17 million in private investment.

Henry said;

“This is a welcome step to improving electric vehicle charging in this country and I’m delighted that West Sussex is going to benefit from more than £1.7 million of LEVI funding.

“We know that more and more people in the UK are choosing to drive electric cars as part of our efforts to cut emissions on the roads.

“Integral to this is ensuring the infrastructure is in place to support EV charging and I’m grateful for the work of West Sussex County Council on this important issue.

“Cutting road emissions is an important part of the goal of reaching net zero carbon emissions by 2050, to protect our environment for future generations.”

The Government launched the £10 million LEVI Fund Pilot last year with nine local authorities to support the delivery of local charging infrastructure.

In response to high demand for the Pilot funding, and the high quality of applications, the Government is now extending funding to an additional 16 local authorities including West Sussex County Council.

This additional backing from Government will accelerate chargepoint delivery and particularly support residents without access to off-street parking.