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Gridserve reveals ‘future blueprint’ compact Electric Forecourt in Norwich Mark Bursa Gridserve has opened a new Electric Forecourt EV charging centre in Norwich. The site is Gridserve’s first ‘compact’ Electric Forecourt, occupying a smaller site than its first site in Braintree, which opened last year. Gridserve has also opened a new ultra-fast charging station at Moto Thurrock services on the M25, near the Dartford Tunnel. Located between junctions 30 and 31, the site features 12 chargers with up to 350kW of power, the fastest currently available. The new investments are part of a £1 billion UK-wide investment into electric vehicle charging infrastructure by the company. The Norwich Electric Forecourt is one of the most advanced electric vehicle charging facilities in the world, with 36 chargers. Of these 22 offer 350kW charging, which can add up to 100 miles of range in only five minutes on compatible cars. There are also eight Tesla Superchargers and six lower-powered chargers. Gridserve said it was “a blueprint for towns and cities across the UK”. Norwich and the East of England region currently have comparatively low EV charger coverage of just 29 chargers per 100,000 people compared to the UK
average of 42 per 100,000 people, or 102 per 100,000 people in London. The Norwich Electric Forecourt is designed as an EV experience destination, where visitors without electric cars can find out more about them, and chat with impartial EV experts about charging or vehicle leasing options. The site includes branches of Costa Coffee, M&S Food and WHSmith, along with super-fast wifi and bookable meeting pods. In the coming weeks, visitors will also be able to test drive the latest
electric cars through Gridserve Car Leasing. Toddington Harper, CEO of Gridserve, said: “Norwich Electric Forecourt showcases a brand new design, where we have been able to provide both charging and a great customer experience in a smaller footprint than our first site at Braintree. By elevating the facilities above the chargers, we make the best use of the space available and are able to deliver a great EV experience without compromise, even when space is
at a premium and sites are more constrained.” Norwich Electric Forecourt is located at Broadland Gate Business Park in Postwick, NR13 5HB, next to the A47. Gridserve is building a third Electric Forecourt at Gatwick Airport, and is planning to open further sites in Uckfield, Gateshead, Plymouth and Stevenage. More than 30 additional sites are under development as part of the company’s commitment to build at least another 100 of the charge hubs.
Leicester City Council launches three-year strategy to improve local services Mark Bursa Leicester City Council has drawn up a three-year plan to make taxis safer and more convenient in the city, including new standards on driver and vehicle fitness. The council says it wants to improve the sharing of driving and vehicle records with police and neighbouring licensing authorities, as well as improving CCTV and GPS tracking. There are currently almost 2,000 taxi drivers licensed by Leicester City Council and about 1,300 private hire vehicles run by 93 different
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operators, along with 230 Hackney carriages. The plan also aims to increase the number of low-emissions vehicles in service, create a better structure for consultation between drivers, unions and the council, and put in place cashless payment options in all private hire and hackney vehicles. Piara Singh Clair, Leicester’s deputy mayor responsible for regulatory services, said: “This strategy brings together the work which is already ongoing around both private hire and hackney carriage standards, and sets out how we will operate over the coming years to
improve services and meet our environmental commitments around air quality and sustainable travel.” Singh Clair continued: “We’ve already carried out consultation work with the taxi trade, passengers and other local stakeholders, and while some of the improvements in this strategy can be brought in fairly soon, others are likely to involve further consultation. In particular, we will be looking at working more closely with neighbouring licensing authorities, such as Wolverhampton, to assess the impact of taxis licensed elsewhere operating in the city.”
MAY 2022
