Driving change with Epping Forest District Council

InstaVolt has installed charging stations across the district in both Loughton and Ongar, to meet increasing demand for public EV chargers within the district and to support Epping Forest District Council’s journey towards carbon-neutrality by 2030.

The Story

Due to increased local demand for public EV charging and with a wider goal of reaching carbon neutrality by 2030, Epping Forest District Council engaged with InstaVolt to seek rapid EV charging solutions across the district.

Their decision to install public EV charging points reflects the Council’s dedication to reducing road transport emissions, helping them meet the Interim Air Pollution Mitigation Strategy for a 10% conversion of cars to Ultra Low Emission Vehicles by 2025 and working towards becoming a carbon-neutral district by 2030.

Epping Forest District Council turned to InstaVolt to create a network of rapid charging points to encourage the use of electric vehicles and meet their clean transport goals.

The Solution

In its first phase, Epping Forest District Council appointed InstaVolt to install rapid electric vehicle charging points across the region, to be used by both commercial and domestic vehicles. The chargers are located in Oakwood Hill Industrial Estate and Burton Road in Loughton, and the high street car park in Bansons Lane in the town of Ongar. The district currently has eight live chargers, with the aim of 14 live chargers by the end of January 2024 to help encourage the uptake of electric vehicles. In return, this will reduce air pollution, improve air quality throughout the district, minimise carbon emissions to support national and local policies, while generating revenue for the council itself. An industry leading provider, Epping Forest District Council chose to work with InstaVolt due to our reputation for ease of use and reliability, as well as our provision of a high-level service to customers, including a 24/7 customer helpline.

Within this partnership, InstaVolt installs, operates and maintains EV charging stations at no cost to the Council, and in return, the chargers generate income for the Council. Not only does this help to protect the public purse, but also means the Council’s exposure to risk is minimal.

The Reward

Since the InstaVolt charging stations have been installed, they have seen good usage levels and great customer satisfaction and the Council is now generating greenhouse gas savings and increasing car park occupancy levels.

Local businesses of various sizes have since been in touch with the Council about the launch of InstaVolt EV chargers, detailing the business benefits of embracing EV for customers, staff and visitors. Through the partnership with InstaVolt, Epping Forest District Council installed the first and only public charging points in the town of Ongar, benefitting a local business centre with 15 EV owners among the users, who have expressed that the rapid chargers will help them attract new startups and growing small businesses to Ongar.

Speaking on the installation, Councillor Sam Kane, Portfolio Holder for Customer and Corporate Support Services at Epping Forest District Council said:

“Epping Forest District Council’s partnership with InstaVolt has allowed the Council to install EV charging points in its public car parks to benefit our local communities, at no cost to the Council. By the end of January 2024, we expect to have 14 public charging points in our car parks across the district. This is part of our commitment to do everything within the Council’s power to become a carbon-neutral district by 2030 and improve air quality to become a greener and cleaner district.

InstaVolt has an industry leading reputation for ease of use and reliability, with a simple and transparent approach to charging for all EV drivers. Our partnership with InstaVolt demonstrates EFDC’s dedication to providing a high-level service for our customers.

The chargers also generate income to the Council, which helps protect the public purse in the current economic climate.”