The subsidy is being introduced by the North East’s Plugged in Places project, Charge Your Car, which is aiming to install 1,000 charging points across the region by 2013. It said Northumberland’s infrastructure was behind the rest of the north east, and is encouraging businesses in key locations to register their interest.

In order to qualify, the host company must provide free electric vehicle charging for three years, plus a free-to-use parking space, and maintain the equipment for five years. Charge Your Car said savings of up to £5,000 were available.

Green businesses, third sector organisations and companies with under 250 employees based across the North East can also apply for a subsidy of up to 75% as part of a recent government grant. Since the scheme was introduced, 300 charging point applications have been made, with many of those already installed.

Josey Wardle, project manager at Charge your Car, said: ‘The prime objective of the Charge your Car project is to ensure that electric vehicle drivers are never too far away from a charging post.

‘Although there has been a significant number of charging points already installed in Northumberland, the county is significantly behind other parts of the region.  We have introduced this revised funding offer to encourage more businesses in Northumberland to plug into the network, boosting their green credentials and saving money.’