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Charging ahead with call for sites to meet EV infrastructure opportunities

Wed 15 Jun 2022


Shouler & Son is calling on commercial and rural landowners in and around the East Midlands to bring forward suitable sites that could go some way to plugging the gap in the country’s electric vehicle (EV) charging infrastructure.

According to the firm, now is the ideal time for the promotion of sites for EV charging forecourt use because the policy push by central government is reinforced by international investor appetite.

In the UK, specifically, the focus on the transition to EVs from fossil fuelled vehicle sales by 2030 has seen the publication of the Government’s Electric Vehicle Infrastructure Strategy in March this year (2022).

This was reinforced in May’s Queen’s Speech in which ‘Enabling the installation of more electric vehicle charge points throughout the UK..’ and ‘..support (for) the roll-out of electric vehicle charging points…’ were explicitly referenced in flagging-up the forthcoming Transport Bill.

It is widely acknowledged that the lack of an EV charging infrastructure with a comprehensive network of easily accessible charging point forecourts is, currently, a disincentive to the consumer purchase of EVs.

For landowners with the right sites there is, says Shouler & Son, the prospect of very significant returns, with capital values projected to be well above any other available property opportunity in the long term.

Sites for consideration need to meet a number of criteria including:

  • Proximity to a major motorway, trunk road or arterial cross-country route.
  • On the edge, or close to, a conurbation or centre of population.
  • Have good access to a grid connection.

Eligible sites could be considered as premium locations in terms of investment potential if they are close to a solar-PV setting too.

Shouler & Son’s ‘call for sites’ is being spearheaded by the firm’s commercial agency who, in tandem with the rural professional team, are gearing up this summer to assess and advise landowners on EV forecourt site suitability.

Launching this initiative, Harry Baines, Partner and Head of Commercial, said, “There is significant investor interest in the rapid development of an EV charging forecourt network to make EVs viable and attractive to drivers of commercial and domestic vehicles.

“There is an appetite for sites, whether freehold or leasehold, that is waiting to be satisfied. Leaseholds are being sought for 40 years plus.

"We are in a sweet spot.

“The policy framework is, finally, setting the scene at an accelerated pace for the serious international players, such as Tesla and more mainstream vehicle manufacturers, to make en masse EV happen.

“But it can’t happen without an extensive network of forecourt sites.”

For more information on site suitability and EV infrastructure network opportunities, contact Harry Baines at Shouler & Son, email h.baines@shoulers.co.uk, tel 01664 560181.