Islington Council gives ‘green’ light to roadside electric charging points

Islington Council has set the wheels in motion to become one of the leading boroughs in cleaning up London’s air quality by installing more than 100 roadside electric charging points.

The fast-charging facilities will encourage the take-up of electric vehicles across the borough, helping combat CO2 emissions and dangerous diesel exhaust fumes.

A significant roll-out is due to take place over the next 12 months, increasing the number of electric charging facilities from 10 bays to more than 100.

The news puts Islington at the cutting edge with one of the largest and widest ranges of next-generation charging facilities in the country.

This will include innovative solutions such as fast-charging lampposts which will fully charge some electric cars in three to four hours, and rapid-charging units which can give an 80 per cent charge in as little as 30 minutes.

Cllr Claudia Webbe, executive member for environment and transport, said: “Tackling poor air quality and diesel emissions are two of the biggest issues – not only for residents but for Islington and London as a whole.

“This is not a trial – we are taking the lead and rolling out this cutting-edge technology in our streets, and will continue to explore every avenue to help improve our air.

“We know that some people need to drive in London, so the easier we make it for them to ditch their petrol or diesel vehicles in favour of electric ones, the better.”

The new charging points will be installed in locations where we know demand already exists, and will install further bays where we can help to increase the take-up of electric vehicle use.

The council is already working with car club companies operating in Islington on bringing electric vehicles into their fleet in future.

The roll-out also complements the Mayor of London's Air Quality Strategy, and will help when black cabs start to switch to electric engines from 2018.