Electric car drivers to benefit from huge expansion of on-street charging

Councils across England are able to use LEVI funding to install kerbside charging for motorists without driveways.

char.gy has already been awarded 11 LEVI contracts, including four signed with Brighton & Hove, Devon & Torbay, Reading and West Northamptonshire.

A further seven have been awarded and are progressing to signature, including the Isle of Wight and Central Bedfordshire.

Through the LEVI projects, char.gy plans to deliver more than 60,000 sockets – a massive boost for millions of people around the country without access to off-street parking.

More than 650 LEVI sockets are already live in Brighton & Hove and Reading, around twice as many installed as the nearest operator.

char.gy was the first operator to go live with the first LEVI-funded charger on Zapmap in Brighton & Hove in September last year.

The charger on Lawrence Road was delivered less than two months after the contract was signed, with the charger being visible on Zapmap’s EV Charger Map.

char.gy is also expanding its offering across London, with installations of on-street chargers underway in Barnet and Enfield.

The charging specialist is working at pace to expand its services, having installed 1,000 new charge points in less than six months.

Even existing services are being targeted and upgraded, with local authorities prioritising long-term quality of service.

char.gy has replaced almost 1,000 charge points in Richmond and Wandsworth, with ongoing work to replace legacy on-street chargers in Barnet and Brighton & Hove.

John Lewis, CEO of char.gy, said: “Councils are choosing char.gy because we turn LEVI projects into working charge points at pace and keep them working.

“6,000 charge points in, we are installing faster than ever, and the seven further councils we are working with towards signature mean that pace will keep growing.”

Hardware used by the company is manufactured in the UK, and it has offered the most affordable on-street EV tariff for four consecutive years.

On-street electric vehicle chargers have become an important part of the conversation in recent years as 40 per cent of people live without off-street parking.

This has been cited as one of the key fears around investing in electric cars for many drivers as they would have to rely on public charging.

Vauxhall data from its Electric Streets of Britain campaign shows that half of UK councils still require on-street charging for residents without driveways.

Despite this, on-street chargers made up more than 55 per cent of public charging installations in 2025, with Zapmap data showing more than 124,000 total chargers across the country.