New EV Charging funding announced as Saltford Parish Council seeks answers from B&NES on previous undelivered scheme

Saltford Parish Council has welcomed the emergence of a new electric vehicle (EV) charging infrastructure programme for Bath & North East Somerset, while highlighting concerns arising from a previous publicly funded scheme that failed to deliver any rural charging infrastructure despite almost £1 million having been allocated for that purpose.

At its September 2026 meeting (Item 18), SPC considered and resolved to publish its report summarising findings from Freedom of Information (FOI) requests submitted to Bath & North East Somerset Council (B&NES) and the West of England Combined Authority (WECA). The report examined the outcome of a previous WECA-funded EV charging programme that included proposals for a public charging hub at Wedmore Road car park in Saltford.

PDF of SPC’s report: SPC’s September 2026 EV report

Following that meeting, the Parish Council was grateful to Saltford Ward Councillor Duncan Hounsell for drawing attention to a weekly list (dated 11 September) which included B&NES Council report concerning the Local Electric Vehicle Infrastructure (LEVI) programme. The report is available on the B&NES Council meetings website at https://democracy.bathnes.gov.uk/mgListPlanItems.aspx?PlanId=1077&LLL=0 and proposes that B&NES Council enter into an agreement with the West of England Mayoral Combined Authority (MCA) to support delivery of a new regional EV charging network.

Previous funding failed to deliver charging infrastructure

Saltford Parish Council’s FOI request found that WECA had allocated £932,813 to B&NES Council to deliver rural EV charging infrastructure, including on-street chargers, community charging hubs and destination charging facilities.

The programme included proposals for public EV charging facilities at B&NES Council’s Wedmore Road car park in Saltford. The inclusion of Wedmore Road in Saltford by B&NES Council as a location for public EV chargers was presented to SPC and other Parish Councils as part of a B&NES ALCA presentation in 2023.

Since first being informed of the proposals in 2023, Saltford Parish Council consistently supported the planned installation at Wedmore Road car park and sought to work constructively with B&NES Council to help facilitate delivery. SPC repeatedly sought updates on progress, offered local information to assist the project and made themselves available for discussions and site meetings.

However, despite repeated enquiries over a period of more than three years, the Parish Council received very little information regarding progress. The final direct communication received from B&NES Council regarding the proposed installation was in January 2025, despite SPC’s subsequent attempts to engage with B&NES Council.

SPC complaint upheld by B&NES following communication failures

After repeated unsuccessful attempts to obtain updates, Saltford Parish Council submitted a formal complaint to B&NES Council in February 2026 regarding the lack of communication and uncertainty surrounding the project by the B&NES Council EV team. The complaint itself required further follow-up after no response was received.

The complaint sought both an update on the proposed EV charging hub at Wedmore Road car park and clarification regarding how WECA funding had been allocated or spent. SPC finally received a response in May 2026.

In its May 2026 response, B&NES Council partially upheld SPC’s complaint, and acknowledged significant communication failures, delays in correspondence, failures to keep the Parish Council informed of programme developments and shortcomings in stakeholder engagement. B&NES Council issued an apology and advised that internal communication processes would be reviewed.

However, while the complaint response acknowledged communication failings, it did not provide the detailed information sought by SPC regarding project delivery, expenditure or the status of the funding allocation – including about B&NES Council’s Wedmore Road car park in Saltford.

(Information on the above can be found in SPC’s February and May 2026 meeting minutes.)

Why the FOI requests were necessary

Because key questions about the programme remained unanswered by B&NES Council, Saltford Parish Council resolved to submit Freedom of Information requests to both WECA and B&NES Council. These requests were made only after years of seeking updates from B&NES Council’s EV team through normal channels and after a formal complaint to B&NES Council in February 2026 – a year after the last direct contact from B&NES Council’s EV team – had failed to provide the necessary information.

Saltford Parish Council also had to pursue responses to its FOI requests before complete information was eventually provided. SPC welcomed WECA’s response within the time period set for FOIs and the information shared.

The information received through the FOI process from both WECA and B&NES Council confirmed that no publicly accessible rural EV charging infrastructure had been delivered under the programme, none of the allocated funding had been spent by B&NES Council, and therefore no reimbursement claims had been submitted to WECA.

B&NES Council stated that this was because the previous programme failed to progress due to issues affecting the Revive Network delivery model and that no alternative use for the funding had been identified by B&NES Council.

Saltford Parish Council’s report concluded that the proposed EV charging hub at Wedmore Road car park was never delivered and that opportunities to utilise almost £1 million of allocated funding were not realised. It requested B&NES Council Ward Councillors pursue questions to the B&NES Council EV Team, due to the ongoing struggle SPC experienced with regards to seeking information.

New LEVI programme offers fresh opportunity

The newly identified LEVI programme as circulated by B&NES Council in its 11 September 2026 list represents a separate initiative. Under the proposals published by B&NES Council, the authority has now been allocated £1.63 million from a wider £4.2 million Government-funded programme secured by the West of England Mayoral Combined Authority (WECA) to expand public EV charging infrastructure across the region.

WECA – instead of B&NES Council – would act as lead authority, procuring and managing a long-term concession contract for the installation, operation and maintenance of charging infrastructure across Bath & North East Somerset and North Somerset.

The programme is intended to improve access to public charging facilities, particularly for residents without access to off-street parking, and would form part of the regional WESTcharge network.

Lessons must be learned

While SPC welcomes the prospect of renewed investment in EV charging infrastructure by WECA, the Council believes it is important that lessons are learned from the earlier scheme.

As above, in its FOI responses, B&NES Council had stated that the reason behind the unspent allocated c.£930,000 previous programme failed to progress due to issues affecting the Revive Network delivery model and that no alternative use for the funding had been identified.

The Parish Council’s report raised questions about why the earlier programme was so dependent upon a single delivery model and what efforts were made to identify alternative suppliers or delivery arrangements when difficulties emerged.

Against that background, it is noted that the new LEVI arrangements are also dependent upon the successful appointment and performance of a concessionaire responsible for financing, installing, operating and maintaining the charging network over a 15-year period.

Saltford Parish Council believes it is important that robust governance, oversight and contingency arrangements are in place to ensure that future delivery is not jeopardised by over-reliance on a single provider or delivery mechanism. As such it has asked B&NES Council Ward Councillors for Saltford to raise key questions.

What about EV chargers at B&NES’s Wedmore Road car park?

Saltford Parish Council has noted that the recently published LEVI report does not identify specific charging locations and makes no reference to B&NES Council’s Wedmore Road car park in Saltford.

Given that Wedmore Road car park – adjacent to Saltford Hall, Saltford Sports Club, Saltford tennis club and many residences without off-street parking – was previously identified as a proposed location for a community EV charging hub and remained under discussion for several years, clarification is now sought as to whether Saltford remains under consideration as part of the LEVI programme or any future EV charging initiatives.

Requests to Saltford Ward Councillors for further information

The information received prior to the recent LEVI report raises a number of important questions which SPC believes warrant further investigation by Ward Councillors and B&NES Council.

These include:

  1. Why was delivery of the programme so heavily dependent upon a single delivery model associated with the Revive Network?
  2. When issues first emerged, what actions were taken to identify alternative suppliers or delivery mechanisms?
  3. Why were Parish and Town Councils in B&NES, including SPC, not informed of the programme’s difficulties?
  4. What steps were taken by B&NES Council to protect the funding allocation and maximise delivery of charging infrastructure?
  5. What are B&NES Council’s current plans for public EV charging infrastructure at Wedmore Road car park and elsewhere in rural communities?
  6. Will Saltford remain under consideration for future EV charging infrastructure through alternative funding programmes such as LEVI? What updates are available on future schemes?

In its report, SPC recommends that Ward Councillors also seek further clarification from B&NES Council regarding:

  • The specific issues that affected the Revive Network delivery model.
  • Why alternative delivery arrangements were not implemented.
  • Whether any extension, amendment or replacement funding arrangements have been agreed with WECA.
  • The status of the remaining £243,485 funding allocation.
  • Whether Saltford remains a priority location for future EV charging infrastructure.
  • The potential use of LEVI or other funding programmes to deliver public EV charging infrastructure in rural communities.
  • Lessons learned from the programme and measures introduced to prevent similar outcomes in future.

SPC further recommends that B&NES Council provide a public update on its future strategy for rural EV charging infrastructure and identify any locations being considered for future investment.

Looking ahead

Saltford Parish Council supports improved EV charging provision and access to public EV chargers. It recognises the important role that publicly accessible charging infrastructure will play in supporting the transition to lower-emission transport.

However, following the outcome of the earlier WECA-funded programme, Saltford Parish Council believes residents are entitled to understand what lessons have been learned by B&NES Council, how future delivery risks will be managed and whether locations previously identified for investment, including Wedmore Road car park in Saltford, remain part of B&NES Council’s longer-term plans.

Saltford Parish Council has sought clarity on these matters from B&NES Council Ward Councillors and would welcome direct further engagement from B&NES Council, WECA and local Ward Councillors as the LEVI programme develops.