Issue - meetings

The Corporate Director of Place to present a report which seeks approval to accept an offer of funding from the government’s Local Electric Vehicle Infrastructure (LEVI) fund following a successful bid as part of a pilot for the Hyperhub 4 charging station scheme at Askham Bar Park and Ride.

Resolved:  (i)      That Option 1 be approved and the LEVI funding offer of £1,243k be accepted in principle, recognising the ultimate need for the £669k match funding, and that approval be given at this stage to match fund £60k, allocated from within current transport budgets, for a phase 1 business case and feasibility study.

                  (ii)     That the results of the feasibility study be reported to a future Executive meeting and a further decision be sought on proceeding with delivery dependent on the outcome of the study.

Reason:     To continue to deliver on the public EV charging strategy to meet objectives in terms of uptake of Electric Vehicles and climate change and carbon reduction.

The Director of Environment, Transport & Planning and the  Head of Programmes & ITS presented a report which sought approval to accept an offer of funding from the government’s Local Electric Vehicle Infrastructure (LEVI) fund following a successful bid as part of a pilot for the Hyperhub 4 charging station scheme at Askham Bar Park and Ride.

The council’s 3-tier approach to delivering York’s electric vehicle charging network up to 2025 was set out in the York Public EV Charging Strategy at Annex A to the report.  Hyperhubs 1 and 2 at Monks Cross and Poppleton Bar had delivered around 90% of all EV charging on the council’s network each month since opening in 2022. The proposed sites at Union Terrace and Askham Bar would complete the ‘ring’ of hyperhubs around the city. Due to current land ownership and lease arrangements at Askham Bar, it was considered sensible to undertake a feasibility study of the site.  Two options were available, as summarised below:

Option 1 – accept the LEVI funding offer and allocate £60k match funding to a phase 1 business case and feasibility study.  This was the recommended option.

Option 2 – not accept the offer, and look to deliver the project through an alternative route. This could affect future bids to the LEVI fund.

In supporting the  recommendation, the Executive Member for Economy & Transport congratulated officers on securing the funding and noted that the hyperhub, being on the city boundaries, would also benefit the combined authority while staying within CYC’s control.  In response to issues raised during debate, the Chair confirmed that discussions with partners were ongoing regarding the challenges around Northern Powergrid.

Resolved:  (i)      That Option 1 be agreed and the LEVI funding offer of £1,243k be accepted in principle, recognising the ultimate need for the £669k match funding, and that approval be given at this stage to match fund £60k, allocated from within current transport budgets, for a phase 1 business case and feasibility study.

                  (ii)     That the results of the feasibility study be reported to a future Executive meeting and a further decision be sought on proceeding with delivery dependent on the outcome of the study.

Reason:     To continue to deliver on the public EV charging strategy to meet objectives in terms of uptake of Electric Vehicles and climate change and carbon reduction.