New Forest District Council Increases EV Charging Points

Mer supported New Forest District Council in addressing its climate change and nature emergency by expanding its EV charging network.

Green Careers Week 2023 - Working in EV Charging

The Client

Home to a beautiful National Park, woodlands, heathlands, and 40 miles of shoreline, the New Forest is an idyllic location in the South of England. There is also a thriving wildlife kingdom, with all six UK native reptile species, five species of UK deer, approximately 2,700 species of mushroom and fungi, and roaming ponies and donkeys.

It is no surprise, then, that the New Forest is taking steps to be a sustainable-conscious district. Launched on Earth Day 2022, the Green Leaf Tourism Business Scheme, for example, helps local tourism businesses in the New Forest improve performance in operating in a more environmentally responsible way.

In October 2021, New Forest District Council (NFDC) declared a climate change and nature emergency, setting an ambition to become carbon neutral by 2030 and carbon zero by 2050. In its Community Matters Corporate Plan 2020-2024, the Council aimed to review car parks across the district in line with increasing the number of EV charge points. Its goal was to increase the number of charge points by 10 by the end of 2022.

The Solution

Mer has worked with NFDC for the last four years. Mer and installation partner Joju Charging, installed its first phase of EV charge points four years ago under the Hampshire County Council’s Central Southern Region Framework (CSR), covering the main conurbations across Lymington, Ringwood, Hythe, New Milton, Brockenhurst, Lyndhurst and Totton.

Growing demand led to further development

As user demand on the Phase 1 network grew, Mer rolled out a second phase of additional fast and rapid chargers at car parks in Beaulieu, New Milton and Barton on Sea.

Over recent months, Mer have upgraded 6 of the Phase 1 fast chargers to 50kW rapid chargers to provide greater charging capacity on selected sites.

Plans for 2024 are in place, with several ultra-rapid chargers under development at the Furlong car park at Ringwood, to sit alongside the two fast charging units initially installed. Another rapid hub site is also in development for Lymington to expand network provision across the Council.

The Council is pleased to be working with Mer and Joju to extend our EV charging provision.

David Hurd, Environmental Enforcement and Amenities Manager at New Forest District Council said, “The Council is pleased to be working with Mer and Joju to extend our EV charging provision. Not only will this make the EV transition easier, but it will also support our wider strategy for protecting our district from the degrading effects of climate change.”