Electric Vehicle Charging

The Workplace Charging Scheme (WCS) is a voucher-based scheme that provides eligible businesses with support towards the upfront costs of the purchase and installation of electric vehicle (EV) chargepoints. All businesses can use it to help provision chargepoints for their staff or fleets. Charities and small accommodation businesses can further use it to provision chargepoints for their guests or visitors.

Source London operates a network of electric vehicle charge points across London located on residential streets, in car parks, at supermarkets, shopping centres and a range of other destinations. The network provides an easy and convenient means of top-up charging for owners of electric vehicles, with charge speeds of either 7kW or 22 kW. 

There are currently 67 Source London charge points in operation at 33 locations across Brent. These chargers can be used by all Source London members irrespective of where they live. You do not need a residents permits for the specific controlled parking zone.

A reduced resident parking tariff has recently been introduced for Brent residents that are charging their vehicles within the borough.

These are larger than traditional free standing charge points such as those operated by Source London and are capable of charging an electric vehicle at powers of up to 50kW to deliver an 80% charge in 30 minutes.

They are mainly installed for high mileage commercial electric fleets, predominantly taxis and private hire vehicles as well as residents and visitors who need a quick ‘top-up’ to complete their journey. 

Rapid charge points are located at five locations in the borough and are managed by Electricity Supply Board (ESB).

We are progressing with the roll-out of a network of charge points attached to lamp columns at various locations across the borough. These facilities, operated by char:gy and Ubitricity enable residents who do not have access to off-street parking to charge their vehicle close to home.

With charge speeds of up to 7.7kW, lamp column chargers are ideally suited for overnight charging.

To date, there are over 300 lamp column charge points in operation across Brent, with a further 180 planned for installation by Autumn 2022.

We are part of a consortium that has recently received funding from the Office for Low-Emission Vehicles to trial new on-street charging technology in the borough via two pilot schemes. 

The Subsurface Technology for Electric Pathways (STEP) project involves the trial of 90 Trojan Energy charge points on six streets in the Harlesden and Kensal Green areas. Fifteen charge points have been installed along a stretch of each street via one grid connection, providing residents with a choice of charge points to use.

The DoorSTEP project uses the same hardware developed under the STEP project, deploying it as an individual charger outside a customer’s home, but is connected to their domestic electricity supply at the kerb, thereby avoiding the need to trail cables across the pavement.

Offering charge speeds of up to 22kW, the charge-points are slotted into the ground, flat and flush with the pavement, and connected to the vehicle using a Trojan Energy Lance. This means that when no vehicles are charging there will be no additional street clutter on the footway.

Similar to the lamp column charge points, both projects aim to solve the issue of charging for electric vehicle owners who park their car on-street and do not have access to a home charge point.

Installation of the on-street charging equipment was completed in April 2022 and all charge points are now up and running. A minimum six-month period of monitoring is now underway, after which a decision will be made on whether to retain the technology (and potentially expand to other parts of the borough) or remove it.

Visit the Trojan Energy website for more information on both trial schemes

Brent Council has entered into partnership with the ride hailing company Uber to deliver 160 on street new electric-vehicle charge points to be installed across 80 locations in Brent by summer 2023, following a landmark agreement with Uber.

Uber and Brent have worked in close collaboration to determine where charge points should be installed. These on-street charging points will improve access for those without private driveways or access to a charge point at their home.

If you are a homeowner living in a flat or you are living in rental accommodation, you may be eligible for the electric vehicle charge point grant scheme provided by the Office for Zero Emission Vehicles. The grant provides a 75% contribution to the cost of one charge point and its installation, up to a cap of £350 (including VAT). View grant guidance and information on how to apply on GOV.UK.

Residential and commercial landlords can also apply to the scheme for up to 200 residential properties or 100 commercial properties per year. View grant guidance for landlords on GOV. UK.

The Council does not allow cables to run across pavements for charging vehicles. This follows the Highways Act 1980, which prohibits trailing cables without consent from the highway authority, as they pose safety risks, reduce accessibility, and interfere with the highway.

Our priority is to expand public electric vehicle charging points and supporting infrastructure across the borough to encourage EV use.

We are also exploring new cross-footway charging technologies, as they may offer benefits for drivers in certain situations.