ELECTRIC vehicle owners in the North-East have a new location for rapid charging.

There are four outlets from the two 50 kilowatt rapid chargers on the A167 Durham Road in Gateshead, which can charge most electric vehicles to 80 per cent capacity in just 30 minutes.

Plans have also been made to expand the station in the future as electric vehicles grow in popularity.

Transport North East and Gateshead Council have worked with EV charging infrastructure specialist Fastned to bring the new site forward.

The new chargers have been delivered through Go Ultra Low North East - a £3m project funded by the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and the UK Government’s Office for Zero Emission Vehicles (OZEV).

The project has funded the building of 11 charging hubs in the region as well as an EV ‘filling station’ in Sunderland and work on engaging SMEs and a business innovator.

The charging station will be operated and maintained through a contract with FastNed.

Councillor Martin Gannon, leader of Gateshead Council and the chair of the North East Joint Transport Committee, said: “This latest investment in our regional electric vehicle infrastructure demonstrates that zero emission vehicles are high on the North-East’s agenda as outlined in the North East Transport Plan.

“Electric vehicles provide a cleaner, more sustainable option for motorists and on behalf of the Joint Transport Committee, I am pleased that this new site will encourage even more people to make the switch to an EV.

“This is a great strategic site, close to the A1 and convenient for residential areas nearby. People can stop to charge their car and enjoy the Angel while they wait.”

Costs for charging are 39p per kilowatt hour, or 29p for ‘gold’ members of the Fastned membership scheme.

Fast chargers in Gateshead can also now be found at the Heworth Metro interchange long stay car park which allows people to charge their cars while they use the bus or Metro to travel.