The first public electric vehicle charge points have been installed in Walsall as part of a borough-wide strategy to make electric vehicles more accessible.

The first 3 charge points went live at the end of August in Granville St in Willenhall, Lincoln Road in Paddock and King Edward Street in Darlaston and are now up and running for the public to use.

Councillor Adrian Andrew, Associate Leader of Walsall Council, said: “It’s great to see the first EV charge points up and running and I hope it makes switching to an electric vehicle easier and more accessible for local people.

“We are committed to becoming a net zero carbon authority by 2041, so creating the infrastructure to support this aim is really important. The installation of these EV charge points compliments the work we’ve already done to improve active travel routes across the borough and is another step towards cleaner air for Walsall.”

Working with Black Country Transport and Wenea, Walsall Council will be installing a further 33 charge points across the borough in the coming months.

Gustavo Prince, Head of Wenea UK, added: "We are delighted to see our first residential chargers commissioned in Walsall through our partnership with Black Country Transport.

"We are poised to accelerate our deployment in Walsall and the West Midlands, with the goal of triggering the wider adoption of electric vehicles in the region in the coming months and years."

The 7.4kW charge points are funded by the Office of Zero Emission Vehicles and Wenea West Midlands Limited with the aim to support people without access to a private driveway to make the switch to an electric vehicle.