Vehicle recharging “HyperHub” plan for Union Terrace car park.

Part of the Union Terrace car park would be converted into an electric vehicle recharging site under Council plans.

Three 50kW Rapid chargers and three 150kW Ultra-Rapid chargers would be installed on a central charging island. Four double headed 7kW Fast charge points would also be installed across 8 parking bays in the main car park, adjacent to the HyperHub.

The proposal, which involve the loss of about 20 ordinary parking spaces, is being discussed next week. It replaces a plan to establish the facility on Bootham Court. This site was subsequently abandoned.

The project is expected to cost £900,000

York’s EV charging strategy includes the deployment of Ultra-rapid charging hubs, known as HyperHubs, at strategic locations around the city.  £1.35million funding was awarded by North Yorkshire LEP in June 2020 to develop York’s public charging network, of which £550k was allocated for the construction of a 3rd HyperHub located near the city centre.

There are no immediate plans to introduce “on street” charging facilities in terraced areas. These facilities have been provided in several City’s making use of the power supply to streetlights or bollards.

Two other HyperHubs are planned, located next to Monks Cross and Poppleton Bar Park & ride sites. An update can be viewed by clicking here

Electric vehicle charging policies received a panning by Which magazine recently

They said that

  • Accessing public chargers was unnecessarily complicated and that universal access was needed
  • Disparate rapid charging plugs were confusing
  • Charging by time was also confusing
  • As was the many variable charging speeds
  • Brand specific networks were considered to be unnecessarily

They called on the government to introduce a standardised approach.

The York Council could usefully add its voice to the calls for more regulation.

Work starts on region’s largest EV charging hubs

City of York Council is delighted to be working in partnership with Evo Energy to start construction on the largest HyperHub sites in the region.

Artist impression of new hyper hub at Monks Cross.
Artist’s impression of new Hyper Hub at Monks Cross.

The council is investing £2.2m to develop sites, next to Monks Cross and Poppleton Bar Park and Rides, into high quality, high speed electric vehicle charging hubs.

Each HyperHub site will consist of solar PV canopies, battery energy storage, 4 Rapid and 4 Ultra Rapid electric vehicle chargers.

The chargers will help the region to support the next generation of electric vehicles which have significantly larger battery capacities and support higher charging speeds.

Construction on both sites has started, and will be led by EvoEnergy. The new sites at Monks Cross and Poppleton are scheduled for completion in June 2021.

City of York Council is a pioneer in the use of innovative green technology. Over recent years, the council has lead the way in providing a range of public charging facilities for electric vehicles to help reduce carbon emissions and improve local air quality thanks to EV’s eliminating NOx emissions at the point of use.

In addition to generating low carbon electricity on site through PV arrays, all of the electricity supplied from the national grid will be generated by renewable sources providing users with low carbon electricity and ensuring that no NOx emissions are emitted from electricity generation.

The council has successfully secured £1m of European Regional Development Funding and £800,000 from the Office for Low Emission Vehicles, along with £400,000 of the council’s own capital funding to install the first two HyperHubs.

This comes just at a time when the nation prepares to transition across to using electric vehicles with the announcement of a complete ban on sales of new petrol or diesel cars by 2030, with plug-in hybrid sales to end in 2035.

When the council first developed their EV charging network in 2013, there were far fewer plug-in vehicles on the road. However, over the past few years, electric vehicle technology has progressed massively and these vehicles have now become a viable option for many everyday road users.

What is Included?

City of York Council has been able to secure funding from the Office for Low Emission Vehicles and European Regional Development Fund.

This largely covers the cost of building the two HyperHub sites, along with a solar canopy system (100kWp) which will generate green electricity and keep users dry and a battery storage solution (348kW / 507kWh), meaning that the council will be able to maintain a lower tariff than commercial operators can offer.

Both of the HyperHub sites will contain 4x Ultra-Rapid (150kW) and 4x Rapid (50kW) vehicle chargers, helping to support the uptake of modern EV’s that have larger battery capacities and are capable of Ultra Rapid charging.

The development of this system will encourage private car owners, taxi drivers and business users to make use of the new facilities, therefore, improving the city’s overall carbon emissions.

Both of the HyperHub sites are started construction in January with both sites due to finish in June 2021. 

This investment is just the beginning of the journey for City of York Council as they revitalise their electric vehicle charging network in 2021 ready to support the transition to EV.

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