Oxfordshire: Countywide - proposed Electric Vehicle charging only parking spaces (July 26)

Over the next two years a county-wide local Electric Vehicle (EV) infrastructure programme – which aims to use a combination of central government grant funding and investment from charge-point operators – to provide EV charging solutions to give Oxfordshire residents the confidence to make the switch to driving electric vehicles ahead of the Zero Emissions Vehicles mandate which will currently means no new petrol or diesel cars can be sold after 2030.

Oxfordshire residents will benefit from the largest installation of public electric vehicle (EV) charging points ever seen in the county following the award of two charge point operator (CPO) contracts, with ‘Connected Kerb’ and ‘EZ-Charge’ having been chosen to provide more than 1,500 public EV charging sockets (doubling the number currently available). Connected Kerb has been selected to install and operate on-street EV chargers on the highway (as well as Oxfordshire County Council-run park and ride sites and other car parks), whilst EZ-Charge has been chosen to install and operate EV charging hubs in district and city council car parks throughout Oxfordshire.

These two companies will work together with Oxfordshire’s councils to create a reliable, easy-to-use, contactless EV charging network spanning the county. This will give more people the opportunity to switch to an EV – regardless of where they live or their parking situation – to improve Oxfordshire's environment and air quality.

The public EV chargers in this programme are aimed in particular at providing convenient primary charging locations for the estimated 30% of Oxfordshire residents who don't have a driveway or private off-street parking. Of the 1,500 new public chargers that are planned to be installed across Oxfordshire between now and mid-2028, around 500 of these will be on-street chargers installed on the OCC public highway.

Public EV charger deployment is being prioritised in areas where a high proportion of residents lack off-street parking, and follows an in-depth site location process involving longlisting via data analysis, assessing off-street opportunities, consultation with Town & Parish Councils, and informal consultation with residents, followed by shortlisting through internal expert assessment, further stakeholder engagement, and tender process.

Therefore, we're asking for your views on the proposal to introduce new dedicated Electric Vehicle (EV) charging only parking places throughout Oxfordshire as follows:

* Note1: All charging points will be the standard’ 7kW AC chargers (except for one bay at Bull Ring in Deddington & one bay in Market Square, Bampton which will have provision for a faster 50kW charger). The LEVI funding and overall programme is specifically aimed at providing ‘near-home’ slower charging for people without driveways, allowing residents/visitors to charge up overnight utilising tariffs that may be cheaper and when they are likely to be parked anyway – rather than to provide ‘destination’ rapid charging facilities.

* Note2: These locations comprise the first group of sites out of a much wider programme, with more planned to come forward for public consultation in the future.

Information on the wider Local EV Infrastructure (LEVI) funded project can be found at the following links:

• March 2024 - Oxfordshire awarded £3.6 million to triple public electric vehicle charging provision by 2025
• June 2026 - Oxfordshire moves forward with programme to support residents without private parking to switch to EVs.

Have your say.

Please read the detailed information provided on this consultation and take the time to complete the survey as your views and opinions matter. Your response should be completed and returned by 5pm on Friday 07 August 2026.

Whilst we will endeavor to answer simple queries during the course of the consultation, any more complex questions/issues will be appraised and dealt with as part of consultation process.

What happens next?

The County Council will review the responses and if necessary (i.e. if objections are received) prepare a report to be presented to the Cabinet Member for Highway Management at a meeting scheduled for later in 2026. This will be public meeting at which members of the public may apply to speak. The agenda and reports for meetings will be made available on the Oxfordshire County Council web site about a week before the meeting (please note that occasionally it is necessary to defer reports to a later meeting, and it is therefore advisable to check the agenda ahead of attending a meeting). The Forward Plan of decisions meetings can be viewed here.