By Michael Whear, principal and managing director at global real estate firm Avison Young.

Michael Whear, principal and managing director at global real estate firm Avison Young

With the 2050 net zero emissions target fast approaching, the demand for electric vehicles across the UK is growing rapidly. At the end of August 2023, there were around 850,000 fully electric cars reported on the road, and a further 510,000 plug-in hybrid models.

In August 2023, Manchester had a 20.7% share of new vehicle registrations in the UK – equating to around 7,500 vehicles – demonstrating the high demand for EVs in major cities in the north of England. But as the number of EVs on the road rises, more must be done to accelerate the installation of charging points and provide consumers with the confidence they need to make the switch to electric.

Without further investment in charging infrastructure – particularly in the North West of England, where the UK’s charging infrastructure is at its lowest – the likelihood of the UK achieving its net-zero goal will continue to fall.

If, however, these investments are made and additional charging points are installed soon, landowners with available development sites could find themselves with a lucrative opportunity to build up the nation’s charging infrastructure and help the country to deliver on its net-zero promise.

Understanding the state of play

Today, the UK has approximately 48,450 EV charging devices, stretching across a total of 29,062 locations. The total number of charging points has steadily increased since June 2022 – however, around one third of the UK’s total charging points are situated in London, where there are 145 devices per 100,000 vehicles.

By comparison, across the regions of the UK, there are far fewer charging points per vehicle, with the North West of England ranking the lowest in terms of charging infrastructure, with just 31 devices per 100,000 vehicles.

As the Government’s 2030 ban on new petrol and diesel cars approaches, the ratio of charging points to vehicles will inevitably need to increase – but, as it stands, minimal investment has been made regionally to support this. Consequently, there are growing concerns among drivers about the lack of available and planned infrastructure, with a fear taking hold that drivers will struggle to regularly charge their vehicles when they need to.

Unlike in other cities, where off-road parking has made EV charging more accessible to homeowners, many people in cities such as Liverpool, Manchester and Leeds do not have such access, which is creating further barriers to encouraging EV uptake in private households across the north of England.

Avison Young reported on this trend back in 2021, in its Ten Trends for a Carbon World report, which highlighted the need for greater investment to support the wider adoption of EVs. Our specialist EV charging team is collaborating with Be.EV, which operates one of the largest charging networks in Greater Manchester, to facilitate its search for suitable charging sites across the region and the rest of the UK.

Be.EV has secured over £100m in funding from Octopus Energy Generation, which will supply all Be.EV chargers with 100% green electricity, enabling the provider to grow its 150-strong public charging point network by a further 1,000 points in the North of England and beyond by 2024, increasing the firm’s charging capacity by over 600%.

Plans for additional charging solutions are also being put in motion across the North West, with Liverpool City Council driving forward an initiative to install charging points into roadside lampposts. But while this is a quick fix to the problem of accessibility, there are some identifiable issues at play – namely that most lamppost charging points will carry significantly less power than specially designed hubs, resulting in long charging times. Alongside this, there is also a clear health and safety issue regarding loose charging wires that may need to be stretched across roads to enable drivers to charge their vehicles.

This is not the future of EVs. Instead, we must seek out key, strategic locations across the North West, in which community charging hubs can be established to enable drivers to charge their vehicles safely and quickly. Additionally, Be.EV argues that public chargers should be installed in retail and leisure locations, rather than roadside locations, due to the above reasons, as well as to enable ultra-fast charging capabilities.

What makes a good charging site?

The growing need for such charging hubs presents a timely opportunity for landowners, who may be sitting on a site that could become a prime spot to enhance the region’s charging capacity.

Landowners, with vacant sites of up to two acres, should now be considering how they can help the North West region meet the growing demand for EV charging. If a piece of land is converted into a charging hub, it provides landowners with a profitable solution for disused land, while also supporting regional efforts to meet the UK’s net-zero target.

However, there are some key considerations to be made. Firstly, sites must be in highly prominent areas where there is high traffic flow. They must also be visible from main roads, and access to the site must be available 24 hours a day. There must also be enough room on the site for an adequate number of charging points, and it’s important to consider the availability of power in the area.

But, in the face of infrastructure challenges across the North West, this is a viable solution to a growing problem – and one which has the potential to drive considerable progress.

It cannot be denied that EVs are the way forward. They are an inevitable part of our future, and so is the infrastructure that charges them. Operators such as Be.EV offer a fully funded solution whereby landowners can get an income from the chargers with no outlay. However, landowners must be open to the possibility of converting their sites, capitalising on the available opportunity and playing a key role in the region’s transition to an EV future.

As the 2030 ban on new petrol and diesel vehicles looms, the future that sits on the horizon is electric – and it’s a future that will require continued collaboration to effect positive and long-term change.