A Warwickshire village will soon have its own public EV charging facility, after a long-fought campaign by a local community energy group.

The unit, to be built in Harbury village car park, is within a ten-minute walk of most homes in the village. It will offer six fast 22kW charging points and two rapid motorway service station-style 50kW ones. 

It will partly be powered by solar panels on the rooftop of the village hall extension, backed up by a 160kW battery enabling storage of electricity drawn from the Grid at cheap night-time rates, keeping the cost of charging as low as possible.  

"It means we can have facilities to charge vehicles for anyone using the playing fields or attending events at the village hall, and residents who don't have on-plot parking," says Paul Quinney, a property and construction consultant and chair of Harbury Future Energy, who developed the design for the renewables hub.

Bob Sherman, a director of Harbury Future Energy and founder of the Low Carbon Warwickshire Network, says the idea came from the announced phasing out of the sale of new petrol and diesel vehicles, and the low likelihood of commercial operators installing public EV charging points in rural areas.

From 2019 onwards, volunteers won support from residents through consultations and events, and from every layer of local government.

When Warwickshire County Council approved the bid in 2022, councillors announced they would use Harbury as a pilot to test the concept and deliverability of rural EV charging hubs. Despite this, the project has taken years to come to fruition, facing challenges around funding rules, and no contractor coming forward when the work was first put out to tender. 

"We have a very professional project, but it takes so long, it's frustrating," says Sherman – advising other community energy groups to anticipate the number of obstacles and delay they could face, and about the importance of never giving up. 

A visualisation of the Harbury Future Energy EV charging hub in Harbury village car park

Previously, Sherman set up an EV Car Share Club in Harbury as well as Harbury e-Wheels, a free EV transport service for local people in need which won the Queen's Award for Voluntary Service in 2022. 

The aim of the car share club "was not just to provide alternative transport but to tell people they're not toys, this is the future – and we were right," says Sherman. "It introduced people to electric cars fairly early on. Now you will see many EVs in the village."

Paul Quinney says the intention behind the charging hub is to be "scalable for people who have Grid challenges in rural communities to have the facilities we're talking about. There could be lots of communities that could see that as a benefit". 

Once the project is underway, Quinney and Sherman hope it is a first step on the ladder for more ambitious community energy schemes.

Already, Harbury Future Energy has installed rooftop solar and LED lighting at the village school. A "shopping list" of proposed projects includes solar tiles on the roof of the community library; solar panels, battery storage and an EV point for the community club; and making the Scout Hut as much of an energy-efficient building as possible. "We'd really like to do something that applies to domestic properties, too" says Sherman.

The feasibility study and business development costs for the EV hub project were covered by the Rural Community Energy Fund, without which, Sherman says, the initiative would not have been possible.

A government grant from the Local Electric Vehicle Infrastructure (LEVI) pilot covers 75% of installation costs, and the successful contractor the rest. Funding for future projects may come from the Great British Energy Community Fund, administered by Midlands Net Zero Hub.

To compensate for lost parking spaces, the village car park has been slightly extended into the neighbouring recreation ground, with funding from the UK Shared Prosperity Fund awarded to the parish council. 

Harbury Future Energy liaised with the co-ordinators of the junior football team who play at the rec, who can use the off-grid power for a refreshment stall at their matches. A new pedestrian and cycle access path is included in the plan.

Sir Jeremy Wright, MP for Kenilworth and Southam, said: "Harbury Future Energy is exactly the kind of practical, community-led project we need to see more of.

"It shows how local people can come together to deliver cleaner, more resilient energy while also bringing real benefits to their area.

"Expanding access to public EV charging in rural communities is an important part of that picture, ensuring the move to low-carbon transport works for everyone, not just those in towns and cities."