Oxfordshire now "UK’s best-connected county for electric vehicles"

By Nicky Godding

8 December 2022

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Oxfordshire is now arguably the UK’s best-connected county for electric vehicles after the successful completion of a major charging network across the county

The Park & Charge Oxfordshire network – installed and operated by Bicester-based specialists
EZ-Charge (pronounced easy charge) – was declared open at a ceremony at the town’s Claremont short stay car park.

The network, which is seen as an exemplar of public and private sector collaboration, now includes 250 chargepoints across 20 hubs across the county.

It was funded with grants from national government and led by EZ-Charge, working in partnership with the University of Oxford, Urban Integrated UK and Oxfordshire County Council who in turn worked with Cherwell, South Oxfordshire, West Oxfordshire and Vale of the White Horse district councils.

Already the project has proved an incredible success, delivering more than 250,000kW/h of power across more than 16,000 individual charging sessions. That’s enough to drive a fully-electric car to the moon and back TWICE.

Flicking the switch to officially make the Claremont charging hub live, Phil Shadbolt OBE, chairman and chief executive of EZ-Charge, said: “At times it felt like Mission Impossible but today we can declare Park & Charge Oxfordshire complete.

“This is a network the whole country is looking to for inspiration and one for which everyone in the county should feel incredibly proud.”

He added: “Although this feels the end of the journey it is really only the beginning. We now need to double down on our efforts to increase the availability of charging and variety of charging options at county and national level.”

Councillor Pete Sudbury, Oxfordshire County Council’s Cabinet Member for Climate Change Delivery and Environment, said: “The reaction from Oxfordshire residents has been overwhelmingly positive, from EV drivers and prospective EV drivers alike.

“Park and Charge is enabling local people who don’t have private off-street parking to have a convenient location to charge their EVs overnight, meaning more Oxfordshire residents have the opportunity to drive electric. It’s another great reason to make sure your next vehicle is an EV.”

Park & Charge Oxfordshire hubs can be found at:

Cattle Market and Claremont car parks in Bicester
Curtis Place car park, Kidlington
Windsor Street and Calthorpe Street West car parks in Banbury
Woodford Way car park in Witney
Black Bourton car park in Carterton
Hensington Road car park in Woodstock
Back Lane car park in Eynsham
New Street car park in Chipping Norton
Cattle Market and Goldsmith’s Lane car parks in Wallingford
Kings Road and Greys Road car parks in Henley
Southern Road car park in Thame
West St Helens, Audlett Drive and Cattle Market car parks in Abingdon
Portway car park in Wantage
Southampton Road car park in Faringdon.

By Nicky Godding

Nicky Godding is editor of The Business Magazine. Before her journalism career, she worked mainly in public relations moving into writing when she was invited to launch Retail Watch, a publication covering retail and real estate across Europe.

After some years of constant travelling, she tucked away her passport and concentrated on business writing, co-founding a successful regional business magazine. She has interviewed some of the UK’s most successful entrepreneurs who have built multi-million-pound businesses and reported on many science and technology firsts.

She reports on the region’s thriving business economy from start-ups, family businesses and multi-million-pound corporations, to the professionals that support their growth and the institutions that educate the next generation of business leaders.