17 May 2010
A scheme to provide charging points for electric vehicles across the north-east of England is to be expanded with a £2.9m government grant.
Regional development Agency One North East and car manufacturer Nissan pledged in December to provide at least 619 charging points by next year.
New funding from Office of Low Emission Vehicles (OLEV) will now see this increase to 1,300 points by 2013.
Points will be installed on streets and at supermarkets and commercial sites.
The funding is part of the Plugged-In Places scheme, which is also being run in London, and Milton Keynes in Buckinghamshire.
Installation of the first phase of 40 charge points in Newcastle and Gateshead is due to be completed in the coming weeks.
Alan Clarke, chief executive of One North East, said: "We are delighted the government has chosen to support our bid and that we will help lead the national infrastructure programme.
"The roll-out of 1,300 electric vehicle charging points across our region now begins in earnest."
The agency is providing £3.8m of funding, with a further £1m coming from public and private sector partners.
Source: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/8535556.stm