West Sussex is celebrating a major step forward in sustainable transport, with more than 1,000 public electric vehicle (EV) charging sockets now operational across the county, making it easier for residents and visitors to charge their vehicles.
The milestone was marked at a special event in Southwick, where local residents, councillors and council officers joined representatives from delivery partner Connected Kerb to celebrate the continued expansion of the county’s EV charging network.
The event took place at Manor Hall Road, where the charging location had been requested by a local resident. Cllr Natasha Davie, Cabinet Member for Environment and Climate Change, and Cllr Erika Woodhurst-Trueman, Cabinet Member for Highways, Transport and Planning, attended alongside local councillors and members of the project team.
West Sussex County Council signed its contract with Connected Kerb in November 2021, with work on the first installations beginning in mid-2022. Since then, the council has worked alongside district and borough councils to expand the West Sussex Chargepoint Network, particularly supporting residents who do not have access to off-street parking.
The latest figures show the network continuing to grow, with 1,030 sockets now recorded across West Sussex.
Since May 2022, the network has recorded around 77,000 charging sessions involving approximately 14,000 users, with around 1.79 million kWh of energy supplied through the chargepoints.
Cllr Natasha Davie, West Sussex County Council Cabinet Member for Environment and Climate Change, said:
“Reaching more than 1,000 live charging sockets is a significant milestone for West Sussex and shows how far the network has come since installations began in 2022.
“As a council, we want residents to have access to the infrastructure they need to support cleaner transport choices. Expanding the public charging network is an important part of that, helping to reduce transport emissions, improve air quality, reduce noise pollution, and ultimately protect our environment across West Sussex.”
Cllr Erika Woodhurst-Trueman, West Sussex County Council Cabinet Member for Highways, Transport and Planning, said:
“Accessible public charging can be a significant challenge for residents who don’t have their own driveway, so we are making sure that our network includes reliable charging points close to where people live.
“This milestone has been achieved through strong partnership working with our district and borough councils and Connected Kerb, and we’ll continue working together to expand the network as demand grows.”
The roll out of our network of EV chargepoints is facilitated by the Government-funded Local Electric Vehicle Infrastructure (LEVI) Pilot Scheme, which is supporting the expansion of on-street charging.
As part of the programme, active chargepoints are being installed alongside passive underground infrastructure that can support additional sockets in the future. This means more charging capacity can be added more easily and with less disruption as demand grows.
Potential chargepoint locations are identified through an evidence-led process that considers factors including local charging need, resident and council input, parking availability, accessibility, highway safety and technical feasibility.
To find out more about electric vehicle charging in West Sussex, visit our Electric Vehicle Strategy webpage.
