OLEV announces £40m funding for Go Ultra Low Cities to promote greener vehicle uptake

Mon 25 January 2016 View all news

London, Milton Keynes, Bristol and Nottingham/Derby were the winners of funding to promote green vehicle technology under the £40m Go Ultra Low City Scheme. £5 million of the funding is also being provided for four other specific initiatives in Dundee, Oxford, York and north east regions.

The Transport Secretary Patrick McLoughlin announced the winners after the successful cities proposed a number of initiatives to support greener vehicles as part of a government competition.

The winning cities will deliver a rollout of cutting edge technology, such as rapid-charging hubs and street lighting that double as charge points, along with a range of innovative proposals that will give plug-in car owners extra local privileges such as access to bus lanes in city centres. Around 25,000 parking spaces will also be opened up for plug-in car owners, saving commuters as much as £1,300 a year according to DfT's press release.

The winning cities are:

  • London, which is awarded £13 million to create ‘Neighbourhoods of the future’ prioritising ultra-low emission vehicles (ULEVs) in several boroughs across the capital
    • proposals include over a dozen streets in Hackney going electric with charging infrastructure such as car-charging street lighting, while Harrow will develop a low emission zone offering parking and traffic priority to owners of plug-in vehicles
    • Westminster Council already provides free parking for ULEVs and London’s proposal aims to deliver 70,000 ULEVs sold by 2020 and almost quarter of a million by 2025
  • Milton Keynes will receive £9 million to open a city centre Electric Vehicle Experience Centre — a ‘one stop shop’ providing consumer advice and short-term vehicles loans
    • the city also proposes to open up all 20,000 parking bays for free to EVs and co-brand bus lanes as low emission lanes giving plug-in vehicles the same priority at traffic lights as local buses
  • Bristol get £7 million to offer residents free residential parking for ULEVs, access to 3 carpool lanes in the city, over 80 rapid and fast chargers across the city and a scheme encouraging people to lease a plug-in car for up to 4 weeks to help them better understand the range of benefits that electric vehicles bring
  • Nottinghamshire and Derby will use £6 million of funding to install 230 chargepoints and offer ULEV owners discount parking and access to over 13 miles of bus lanes along key routes across the city
    • the investment will also pay for a new business support programme letting local companies ‘try before they buy’

£5 million of development funding is also being provided for specific initiatives in Dundee, Oxford, York and north east regions. New commuter charging hubs in Dundee will open up links across the region for plug-in vehicle owners, while solar-canopied park-and-ride hubs in York will help reduce air pollution in and around the city.

The Go Ultra Low Cities fund is one element of a comprehensive £600 million package of measures from OLEV to be used by 2020. The package also includes £400 million of guaranteed money for individual plug-in car grants, investment in low emission buses and taxis, and research and development funding for innovative technology such as lighter vehicles and longer-lasting car batteries.

The LowCVP recently published a good practice guide - 'Local Measures to Encourage the Uptake of Low Emission Vehicles' which was produced to encourage best practice in the development of local policy in relation to low carbon and cleaner vehicles. A number of the suggestions outlined in the guide were included in the winning submissions from competitors in the Go Ultra Low City Scheme. To view the guide, please follow the associated links.

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