Purpose

To approve the basis of the submission to Government to secure
the funding, and agree the process to select a supplier to provide,
install, operate, maintain and manage the infrastructure, including
all of the necessary delegated powers.

Content

RESOLVED
 
KEY DECISION
 
That the Executive
 

i)   
Welcomed the award for LEVI Capital Funding and
identification of North Northamptonshire as a Tranche 1
area

 

ii)  
Delegated authority to the Executive Member for Highways,
Travel & Assets, in consultation with the Executive Directors
for Place & Economy and Finance, to agree the submission of a
LEVI Business case to Government following the approach set out in
this report and the principles outlined in Appendix A of the
report

 

iii)Subject to Government approval
of the LEVI Business Case, delegated authority to Executive Member
for Highways, Travel & Assets, in consultation with the
Executive Director for Place and Economy and Executive Director for
Finance and Performance, to procure a provider to supply, install,
operate and maintain a network of publicly available
electric vehicle charging points across North
Northamptonshire

 

iv)Following Government review of
the tender process and contract documents, delegated authority to
the Executive Member for Highways, Travel & Assets, in
consultation with the Executive Director for Place and Economy and
Executive Director for Finance and Performance, to agree
appointment of a preferred supplier and signing of related
contracts and agreements

 

v) 
Noted the recent public consultation on the Council’s
draft Electric Vehicle Infrastructure Strategy which closed on 11th
October 2023

 

vi)Delegated authority to the
Executive Member for Highways, Travel & Assets, in consultation
with the Executive Member for Climate Change & the Green
Environment and the Executive Director for Place & Economy to
consider the responses to the recent consultation on the draft
strategy and approve the final version for publication
 
 
Reasons for Recommendations:
The recommendations will enable the Council to submit a business
case to Government which will secure the provisional LEVI Capital
allocation, undertake a procurement process using the capital
funding to secure private sector investment to install, operate and
manage a publicly accessible EV chargepoint (EVCP)
network across North Northamptonshire, and appoint a
successful supplier. The recommendations will also enable the
council’s Electric Vehicle Infrastructure Strategy to be
approved following consideration of responses to the recent public
consultation.
 
Alternative Options
Considered: There are two main alternatives to the recommended
approach. Firstly, the Council could decide to delay submitting a
business case beyond 30th November 2023. This would mean
that it would be submitted at a later date and NNC
would be moved to Tranche 2 rather than Tranche 1. A delayed
procurement could place NNC in a more difficult procurement
environment as the capacity of Charge Point Operators could be more
limited by local authority contracts already awarded elsewhere.
Secondly, the Council could decide not to submit a business case.
It is likely that this approach would result in the funding
allocation being directed to other local authority areas. This
would mean that there would be very little opportunity for the
Council to attract additional investment to expand the provision of
publicly accessible EVCPs beyond areas which are commercially
attractive.