There’s no getting around it, January sucks. It’s cold and dark outside, you’re back to work, probably off the sauce and contemplating some sort of miserable health kick.
Fortunately, Basildon Borough Council has brought a bright ray of sunshine to the start of 2023, with its approval of a GRIDSERVE Electric Forecourt® in Nevendon.
The Nevendon Electric Forecourt® is to be located off the A132 (Nevendon Road), north of the A127 Nevendon Flyover and within close proximity to the centre of Basildon, made famous by musical alumni that includes Alison Moyet and Depeche Mode.
The approved design will sit on approximately 3.34 acres (1.35ha) of greenfield land, which allows scope for the installation of 31 industry leading EV chargers to support electric cars, motorcycles, vans, buses, trucks and other modes of zero emissions transport.
As is the GRIDSERVE way, all chargers will be membership free, accept contactless payment and be powered by net zero carbon energy, while on-site battery storage will help to reduce grid dependency.
To address some councillor concerns raised during the consultation period, sensitive landscaping and tree planting has been prioritised within the proposal to help facilitate biodiversity. A transport appraisal was also conducted, concluding that most of the trips to the Nevendon Electric Forecourt® would be from people already driving on the Nevendon Road – albeit now with the confidence in the local EV charging infrastructure to make the switch to an electric vehicle.
Essex just can’t get enough
Thanks to the approval of the Nevendon Electric Forecourt®, the county of Essex looks set to become a leader in the decarbonisation of transport.
The world’s first Electric Forecourt® was pioneered by GRIDSERVE in the town of Braintree, Essex, and has since gone on to win multiple awards for its EV charging experience, community engagement programmes and sustainable building practices. It’s this project that has helped validate both the commercial viability and community engagement that are required for a successful nationwide rollout of Electric Forecourts®.
As a company, GRIDSERVE believes that electric vehicles are for everybody; nobody should be left behind in this transport revolution.
Emma Harding, Permits Manager for GRIDSERVE, said: “We’re proud to have been given this opportunity to work with the people of Basildon and are committed to ensuring there are myriad environmental and economic benefits for the local community, beyond having the world’s most advanced EV charging facility on their doorstep.”
Construction dates are still to be confirmed, but stay tuned to our Nevendon site page and we’ll endeavour to keep you posted on progress.
