Kingston Council (RBK) will install over 100 new charging points for electric vehicles in the borough in the coming years.

The declaration was made public yesterday (June 17) in anticipation of Clean Air Day this Thursday, June 20.

There are currently 13 council charging points in Kingston across 10 locations.

RBK said it would work to introduce 100 new roadside charging points and five rapid charging points in the borough over the next three years.

The rapid charging points are funded by Transport for London (TfL) as part of its drive to install 300 such terminals across the capital by 2020.

Transport company BluePoint London will meanwhile fund the Source London residential charging network in the borough, with 25 Source London chargers and 50 lamp column chargers expected to be in place in Kingston by April 2020.

Regarding future developments, RBK said it wanted to "seek to ensure 20 per cent of new car parking spaces within developments are for electric vehicles, and that an additional 20 per cent of spaces have the basic infrastructure in place at the outset so that they can support electric vehicles in the future."

Speaking about the council's commitment to increase electric charging points in the borough, Councillor Hilary Gander, portfolio holder for Environment and Sustainable Transport, acknowledged the scale of the challenge but struck an optimistic tone.

"We all know how vital it is to work together to clean our air and reduce our carbon footprint.

"Air quality is one of the biggest health and environmental issues we face in our local area. It has huge impacts on our health.

"The council’s commitment to installing extra EV charging points shows we are committed to enabling residents to choose to travel in a way that is more environmentally-friendly," Cllr Gander said.

The announcement came precisely one week ahead of a crucial debate at RBK next week that has sparked the attention of environmentalists.

On June 25, RBK will debate joining numerous other councils and the UK parliament itself in whether to declare a Climate Emergency in the face of the immediate threats and challenges posed by the climate crisis.

RBK urged residents with any queries about the council's new plans for environmental development and transport in the borough to contact them at: sustainable.transport@kingston.gov.uk.