Purpose

To approve the basis of the submission to Government to secure the funding, and agree the process to select a supplier to provide, install, operate, maintain and manage the infrastructure, including all of the necessary delegated powers.

Decision

RESOLVED

KEY DECISION

That the Executive

i)    Welcomed the award for LEVI Capital Funding and identification of North Northamptonshire as a Tranche 1 area

ii)   Delegated authority to the Executive Member for Highways, Travel & Assets, in consultation with the Executive Directors for Place & Economy and Finance, to agree the submission of a LEVI Business case to Government following the approach set out in this report and the principles outlined in Appendix A of the report

iii)Subject to Government approval of the LEVI Business Case, delegated authority to Executive Member for Highways, Travel & Assets, in consultation with the Executive Director for Place and Economy and Executive Director for Finance and Performance, to procure a provider to supply, install, operate and maintain a network of publicly available electric vehicle charging points across North Northamptonshire

iv)Following Government review of the tender process and contract documents, delegated authority to the Executive Member for Highways, Travel & Assets, in consultation with the Executive Director for Place and Economy and Executive Director for Finance and Performance, to agree appointment of a preferred supplier and signing of related contracts and agreements

v)  Noted the recent public consultation on the Council’s draft Electric Vehicle Infrastructure Strategy which closed on 11th October 2023

vi)Delegated authority to the Executive Member for Highways, Travel & Assets, in consultation with the Executive Member for Climate Change & the Green Environment and the Executive Director for Place & Economy to consider the responses to the recent consultation on the draft strategy and approve the final version for publication

Reasons for Recommendations: The recommendations will enable the Council to submit a business case to Government which will secure the provisional LEVI Capital allocation, undertake a procurement process using the capital funding to secure private sector investment to install, operate and manage a publicly accessible EV chargepoint (EVCP) network across North Northamptonshire, and appoint a successful supplier. The recommendations will also enable the council’s Electric Vehicle Infrastructure Strategy to be approved following consideration of responses to the recent public consultation.

Alternative Options Considered: There are two main alternatives to the recommended approach. Firstly, the Council could decide to delay submitting a business case beyond 30th November 2023. This would mean that it would be submitted at a later date and NNC would be moved to Tranche 2 rather than Tranche 1. A delayed procurement could place NNC in a more difficult procurement environment as the capacity of Charge Point Operators could be more limited by local authority contracts already awarded elsewhere. Secondly, the Council could decide not to submit a business case. It is likely that this approach would result in the funding allocation being directed to other local authority areas. This would mean that there would be very little opportunity for the Council to attract additional investment to expand the provision of publicly accessible EVCPs beyond areas which are commercially attractive.