There are only two public electric vehicle (EV) charging points in Jesmond even though Transport North East says 28,000 charging points will be needed across the region in the next 15 years.

By the end of last month (November 2022), there were 36,752 electric vehicle charging points across the UK, according to EV tracker Zap-Map. This represents a 33% increase in the number of charging devices in the last 12 months. However, 44% of all charging points are in Greater London and the south east of England. The north east region has the smallest number in Britain – 1,106, representing just 3% of the total.

Transport North East, which works on behalf of seven local authorities in the region, has secured more than £500,000 in grant funding from the Office of Low Emission Vehicles to deliver rapid charging infrastructure. But at the current rate of installation, reaching the 28,000 target is not achievable, warns Greg Stone, Liberal Democrat for Jesmond’s neighbouring ward, Heaton.

“We are hearing big statements about the transition away from petrol and diesel to meet net zero targets, but they need to do a lot better than they’re doing at the minute,” he said.

According to Zap-Map, North Jesmond has one charging point at West Jesmond Metro station, while South Jesmond has one at Benton House in Sandyford.

“Places like South Jesmond represent a particular problem, because there are a lot of terraced houses in Sandyford,” said Stone. “People who have houses with drives or garages can install a home charger, but that’s not as easy for people who live in terraced streets.”

Stone points to other cities, including London, where EV owners can plug their cars and vans into the street lighting network. “That doesn’t seem to be on the cards in Newcastle,” said Stone. “We would like to see Newcastle learn from other places.”

South Jesmond Labour councillor Lesley Storey agrees that this a “massive, massive challenge”.

“We now have a new cabinet member (Jane Byrne) who is responsible for transport, who is a resident in Jesmond and understands the issues and challenges,” she said. “We are certainly having conversations around the infrastructure that supports electric vehicles.”

There have also been complaints about the reliability of existing charging points. Since raising the issue in September, Greg Stone says little has been done. “The council introduced parking charges for drivers using car park spaces with EV charges, so we can’t understand why the council isn’t using that money to maintain and expand EV charging.”