Background
Thornham Village Hall is a community space situated on the North Norfolk Coast which opened in 2013 after the local community were successful in their fundraising and campaigning efforts.
Now a successful community hall and wedding venue the committee were interested in installing electric vehicle (EV) charging points in the car park.
The village hall already had a number of resource efficiency measures in place to help reduce their carbon emissions, including solar panels and battery storage. The committee felt that they were perfectly situated to offer EV charging and hoped they could access advice and funding from the ERDF Eastern New Energy project to take this idea forward.
Support from Groundwork Consultants
Rex Kellett, one of Groundwork’s Sustainability Consultants, visited the village hall after receiving the enquiry from Thornham Village Hall. He spoke with the committee to understand their aspirations for EV charging and audited the site to review the existing infrastructure. From here he wrote up a comprehensive report outlining the steps needed to take their EV charging point idea forward.
Stephanie Mocatta at Thornham Village Hall was pleased with the advice they received and the committee are now making plans to install EV charging points later in 2023. She added,
Thornham Village Hall really appreciates the help given with EV Charging Points. We really ant to move forward with our Go Green policy and this consultancy advised helped in an area where we had no expertise!
Things to consider before deciding on EV charging points
If you’re considering installing EV charging in a public space, such as a village halls, there are some questions you should ask beforehand, including:
- Is there demand for their use?
- Are there tourist attractions, accommodation or and destinations nearby?
- Are you near any major travel routes with significant traffic?
- Are there other EV chargers in the area?
- Do you have an advertising plan? It’s important to have a means of advertising and marketing plan. There are websites where EV owners can locate chargers in the area.
- Will your charger be rapid, fast or slow? Slow chargers are typical located at home. Fast and Rapid are both a good option for public chargers. It is good idea to investigate the pros and cons of each one.
If you’ve asked these questions and you’re still lacking the confidence to make the next steps with EV charging Groundwork’s Sustainability Consultants can offer advice and guidance.
Can I access grant funding for EV charging points?
Thornham Village Hall is situated in Norfolk, meaning they were able to access The Norfolk Rural Electric Vehicle Charge Point Pilot Scheme, which contributed to Groundwork’s consultancy costs and the installation of the EV charging points.
There are an abundance of funding schemes available across the UK for EV charging and sustainability advice, visit the link below for more information:
