Northumberland will get its first on street charging points for electric vehicles with Bellingham, Corbidge, and Haltwhistle earmarked as 'ideal locations.'

The charging points will be installed in towns across the county after Northumberland County Councillors agreed on over £100,000 of funding from the Office for Zero Emission Vehicle (OVEZ).

Seven sites have been identified as ideal locations for the first charging points – including Bellingham, Corbridge and Haltwhistle. Councillors expect to install 15 charge points across the seven locations, meaning up to 30 vehicles can charge at any one time.

Cllr Glen Sanderson, Leader of Northumberland County Council said: “We are eager to invest in EV infrastructure across the county.

“Those residents without off-street parking do not currently have a convenient way to charge an EV if they were to purchase one. This investment will lead the way in solving this issue.”

Road transport accounts for 33% of CO2 in Northumberland according to the most recent report from the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS) in 2018.

Cllr Sanderson continued: “Transport on our roads is the single biggest contributor to emissions in our county, and it is imperative to decarbonise our vehicles to help reach our goal of net-zero Northumberland by 2030.”

The other Northumberland towns which have been identified as ideal locations for EV charging points are Alnwick, Ashington, Berwick upon Tweed, and Felton.