The Head of Corporate Strategy has submitted a report to seek approval for the City Council’s participation in a countywide bid to Government under the new Local Electric Vehicle Infrastructure (LEVI) pilot fund, led by Oxfordshire County Council, which if successful will fund the installation of Electric Vehicle Charging Infrastructure in Oxford.

Cabinet is recommended to:

1.       Grant approval for Oxford City Council to collaborate in the project (called OXLEVI) and funding bid in June 2022, and, if successful, to deliver the scheme, subject to negotiationswith Government and partner organisations associated with the project;

2.       Delegate authority to the Head of Corporate Strategy, in consultation with the Cabinet Member for Health and Transport, the Cabinet Member for Zero Carbon Oxford and Climate Justice, the Head of Financial Services/Section 151 Officer, and the Council’s Monitoring Officer, to enter into funding, partnership, contracts and other necessary agreements for the purpose of delivering the scheme, including expenditure as necessary of remaining GULO grant funding held by the Council;

3.       Authorise officers to deliver installation of EV Charging infrastructure in Oxford’s car parks, having regard to other potential purposes to seek to optimise the use of space;

4.       Grant approval for funding of up to £80k (£8k pa) to cover contract management for the installed infrastructure over the next 10 years, with the expectation that this figure will be increasingly offset by revenues generated;  and

5.       Note that the Oxford City EV Infrastructure Strategy is scheduled for the July Cabinet, while due to the June grant deadline the OXLEVI project item has been brought forward to the June Cabinet. The delivery of this project within Oxford will be aligned with the principles set out in the Strategy.

The Head of Corporate Strategy had submitted a report which sought approval for the Council’s participation in a countywide bid to Government under the new Local Electric Vehicle Infrastructure (LEVI) pilot fund, led by Oxfordshire County Council which, if successful, would fund the installation of Electric Vehicle Charging Infrastructure in Oxford.

Councillor Imogen Thomas, Cabinet Member for Zero Carbon Oxford and Climate Justice, highlighted that participation in the pilot would support the Council’s aim of 25% of the City’s cars being electric by 2025, and would allow the necessary infrastructure to be quickly provided. This included up to 500 cable gullies for homeowners without access to off street parking and 3 – 5 residential charging hubs, with a total of 18 charge points to be installed on City Council owned land / car parks.  Project C (up to 35 electrified disabled parking bays) had subsequently been removed from the funding bid by the partnership developing the project; however, the Council would continue to work with the County Council with a view to progressing this in the future.

The Cabinet Member for Zero Carbon Oxford and Climate Justice highlighted that due to the nature of the planning process it could not be guaranteed that planning permission would be granted for cable gullies; therefore there would need to be consideration during the pilot process of options to mitigate the risk to homeowners of paying for a planning application which may subsequently be refused.  Eventually, this might involve permitted development rights for home EV chargers.  Councillor Alex Hollingsworth, Cabinet Member for Planning and Housing Delivery, recommended that planning design guidance be produced both for the team leading the project and residents thinking of taking up the opportunity of a cable gully.  It was also recommended that other electric vehicles such as cargo bikes, and the inter-operability of their charging formats, be considered as part of the pilot.

Cabinet resolved to:

1.      Grant approval for Oxford City Council to collaborate in the project (called OXLEVI) and funding bid in June 2022 and, if successful, to deliver the scheme, subject to negotiations with Government and partner organisations associated with the project;

2.      Delegate authority to the Head of Corporate Strategy, in consultation with the Cabinet Member for Zero Carbon Oxford and Climate Justice; the Cabinet Member for Health and Transport; the Head of Financial Services / s151 Officer; and the Council’s Monitoring Officer to enter into funding, partnership, contracts and other necessary agreements for the purpose of delivering the scheme, including expenditure as necessary of remaining GULO grant funding held by the Council;

3.      Authorise officers to deliver installation of EV charging infrastructure in Oxford’s car parks, having regard to other potential purposes to seek to optimise the use of space;

4.      Grant approval for funding of up to £80k (£8k per annum) to cover contract management for the installed infrastructure over the next 10 years, with the expectation that this figure will be increasingly offset by revenues generated; and

5.      Note that the Oxford City Electric Vehicle Infrastructure Strategy is scheduled for the July Cabinet meeting, while due to the June grant deadline the OXLEVI project item has been brought to the June Cabinet meeting.  The delivery of this project within Oxford will be aligned with the principles of the Strategy.