Electric Vehicles and Charging

By 2030, there will be no new petrol or diesel cars made.

The UK is ramping up the electrical vehicle charging infrastructure to help transition the uptake of electric vehicles.

As well as looking how the Council can support the transition to electric vehicles, it is also looking towards how we can support our employees, residents and commuters to travel differently to reduce the need for electric cars, such as travelling via public transport and active travel like cycling and walking which have many health benefits.

Did you know?

Want to learn more about an electric car, how to use it, how to charge it? Here is an online video - beginners guide – feel free to explore https://level-network.com/learningzone/courses/driving-an-electric-vehicle-a-beginners-guide/

Charging points

The District has reviewed all its council-owned car parks and is working with BP Pulse as part of its local electric vehicle charging network plans, to make the system accessible for all residents across South Derbyshire.

The Council’s operational partnership with BP Pulse covers a proportion of costs that are not supported by central government grants to ensure these EV Charge Point costs are 100% funded.

South Derbyshire District Council now looks after 42 public electric charge bays across 6 Council owned car parks. These bays include 2 Rapid charge and 140 fast charge bays across South Derbyshire.

The difference between types of chargepoints

Rapid Charge - can take 20-60 minutes to charge a battery.

Fast Charge - can take 4-6 hours to charge a battery

Slow Charge - Normally charging at home and can take 6-11 hours to charge a battery (dependant on size).

Location of the Council’s supplied chargepoints.

  • SDDC Bus Station car park, Swadlincote DE11 0AH
  • Rink Drive, Swadlincote DE11 8JL
  • Arnold Close, Castle Gresley DE11 9HF
  • Station Road, Hatton DE65 5EL
  • High Street, Hilton DE65 5GG
  • Assembly Rooms, Melbourne DE73 8GJ

Discount Cards for local residents.

Local residents can apply for a *D2N2 RFID discount card (yearly charge) at http://www.chargeyourcar.org.uk/d2n2/ where the locations of all of the charge points on the regional network are available. With the D2N2 card there is a £20 yearly fee, however you have access to a reduced tariff. This reduced tariff currently saves you around 20-25% off your per kWh charge.Details of the thousands of charge points across the UK can be found at https://www.zap-map.com/charge-points/public-charging-point-networks/polar-network.

Want to learn more about different chargepoints – watch this short video here https://level-network.com/learningzone/lessons/charging-an-electric-vehicle/

Council commitments

The council declared a climate emergency in 2019 and is working towards being carbon neutral by 2030 and to work with residents, businesses and partners to reduce their carbon footprint.

With the Government updating electric vehicle charging point criteria for 2021/22 this will create the potential to apply for more SDDC car parks. If you wish to put forward a car park in your area please email environmental.health@southderbyshire.gov.uk.