Barnet Council is making a multi-million-pound investment in on-street chargers, enabling EV motorists without driveways to charge their vehicles easily.

The ‘flat-and-flush’ design of the chargers leaves the pavement fully accessible when they’re not in use

More than 500 charging points will be installed in the borough, designed to be flat-and-flush to leave the pavement fully accessible when not in use.

The chargers will be located across 34 of Barnet’s streets and will be operational in phases by November 2022 and March 2023.

The charge points are being installed by Trojan Energy under a £4.65m project. Of this figure, £3.5m was secured in government grant funding; one of the largest amounts provided through the On-Street Residential Chargepoint Scheme, which is open to local authorities in the UK.

Customers use a ‘lance’ to connect their vehicle to the charging point at the roadside. These points are linked via underground cables to cabinets, located discreetly up to 100m away, which send power to 15 charging units at any one time.

Drivers can also obtain real-time charge point availability updates via their mobile phone, either by app or text, using Trojan Energy’s DEICER system, deployed as part of the project.

The project, Trojan Energy’s largest contract to date, addresses the current limitations on residential EV charging and also meets the company’s mission “to democratise EV charging”, making EV charging accessible to the 10 million motorists that park on-street in the UK.

Ian Mackenzie, CEO of Trojan Energy, said: “Trojan Energy’s mission has always been to ensure everyone benefits from the energy transition. We know that people are four times more likely to own an electric vehicle if they have a driveway but, by rolling out Trojan Energy’s on-street charging points, we are making owning an EV increasingly accessible to the millions of motorists that park on-street without cluttering our streets with permanent charging posts.”

The work is part of Barnet Council’s wider sustainability programme to transform into a net zero borough.

Cllr Alan Schneiderman, Barnet Council environment and climate change committee chair, said: “Supporting electric vehicles will not only help us ensure the air we breathe in Barnet is cleaner, it will also take us the next step closer to becoming a sustainable borough.

“Essential to the success of our programme will be working with partners and our residents and communities to provide the right support and infrastructure that will benefit everyone today who calls Barnet home, as well as preparing for tomorrow’s generation.”