Connected Kerb to install 1,000 on-street charge points in Gloucestershire

Gloucestershire plans to install 1,000 on-street electric vehicle charging points over the next three years. The Council has appointed Connected Kerb to install and run the network of EV chargers. Residents are being asked to give their views on locations.

++ This article has been updated; please continue reading below. ++

The Council said that its programme aims to prioritise access to charging points for the one-third of residents in Gloucestershire who do not have off-street parking and charging. The Council has also started identifying suitable locations and is bidding for government funding to accelerate this work.

As for Connected Kerb, the British company specialises in on-street charging solutions. The chargers are made from recycled materials and use renewable energy.

The company’s CEO, Chris Pateman-Jones, said this was “the largest single installation of EV charging points” in the southwest.

Gloucestershire Council added that the network was to give residents the practical option of going electric as early as possible and way ahead of the incoming sales ban of ICE vehicles across the UK in 2030.

By then, Connected Kerb reportedly aims to have installed 190,000 publicly accessible AC chargers in the UK. The company specialises in standard chargers with 7 to 22 kW for overnight street parking.

The British company now has three products. These include the Gecko charger, which can be attached to existing parking posts or bollards and is connected to an underground unit that monitors and controls the flow of electricity and data.

The company also offers two 7 kW chargers, the Limped and the Armadillo. The former is a wall box for mounting only on existing walls, while the latter is the company’s debut model, advertised as a kerbside charger and made from recycled material.

In May, they also launched the Chameleon unit. It looks like a bollard and does not require planning permission.

The British Government funds charging infrastructure through the On-Street Residential Charging Scheme (ORCS), which covers up to 75% of the installation cost.

Connected Kerb entered the market in early 2019 with the first chargers in London mounted on the Kerb, on traffic sign poles or boundary bollards at the side of the road. The company now has charge points at around 300 locations in the UK.

Their 2022 target includes installing 5,000 charging points across the UK this year, with claimed contracts for 30,000 and 190,000 to be deployed by 2030, as mentioned above.

In Gloucestershire, residents may state their views and ask for installations throughout the three years of the project by filling in this survey.

Update 29 August 2023

Gloucestershire County Council delivers an update on its plans to install 1,000 EV charging points with Connected Kerb over the next three years. The first phase is underway after the first 26 locations have been chosen in consultation with residents.

Connected Kerb will begin the installations at the end of August, and further locations are being identified to continue the next phase of the rollout.

The Council added it made changes following residents’ feedback. For example, many locations will see two twin chargepoints that can charge four EVs to ensure value for money. However, in areas with the greatest parking pressures, the Council says it will only initially mark out two bays for EVs before there is demand to fill four bays.

gloucestershire.gov.u, gloucestershire.gov.uk (update August ’23)