Walking Distance to EV Charge Points

This dataset represents the number of electric vehicle charge points within a 10-minute (800m) walking distance at a resolution of 100m2 grid squares. The output is shown as a heat map where red squares are ‘hot spots’ for charging (where charging is more readily available) and blue squares are ‘cold spots’ (where charging is either unavailable or accessible only via a longer walk).

This dataset can be used to inform EV charging strategies as it provides an indication of areas that are well served vs. underserved by existing ZEV infrastructure. This dataset is periodically updated, however, as ZEV infrastructure is constantly changing, users are encouraged to upload any supplementary data they have (e.g. Zap Map or local records) to ensure they consider the latest information in any developing strategy or policy landscape.

Until December 2024 the locations of EV chargepoint used in this dataset were drawn from the now discontinued National EV Charge Point Registry (also available in the Transport & Mobility category in the main map). The Department for Transport is expected to announce a replacement source. Once published, this data will be used to update this dataset going forwards.

A geospatial query is used to count the number of charging devices within a 10 minute walk of the centre point of each grid square. This count can therefore include charging devices outside the square, but within a reasonable walking distance. This count can include multiple chargers which are clustered in a single location.

There are no set-governmental target for the maximum distance residents should walk to access public EV chargers. However, several funds and regional bodies have stated that residents should have access to EV charging infrastructure within a reasonable walking distance. This is sometimes defined as 1km or less. This dataset provides insights into how well served a population is by looking at the number of charging stations within an 800m walking distance.

Case Study

Read more in the link below about how this dataset was used to inform Birmingham City Council’s EV charging strategy.