Tower Hamlets rolls out 70+ rapid chargers

The London borough is working with charge point operator Believ on the rollout, which the council says is fully funded by the CPO and represents Believ’s largest rapid and ultra-rapid deployment to date.

Higher-power charging complements 2,000 lamp-column points

Tower Hamlets has already installed around 2,000 residential charge points in existing lamp columns. The new rollout is intended to add a different charging option for drivers who need shorter sessions, including taxi drivers, businesses and fleet users.

The council says 93% of homes in the borough do not have off-street parking, making public charging particularly important. More than 5,400 plug-in vehicles are registered in Tower Hamlets.

The first 17 chargers are live

Initial locations include White Horse Lane, Prusom Street, Plumbers Row, Alfred Street, Stepney Green and Chrisp Street. Further sites will follow as the programme continues.

The council says the layout will use a mixture of dedicated EV charging bays and standard parking bays with access to charging, intended to add infrastructure without unnecessarily removing existing parking capacity.

The project uses a fully funded model

Believ is funding the charging infrastructure rather than the council paying the full capital cost upfront. That type of model allows a local authority to expand charging while the CPO carries more of the investment and operating responsibility.

The council announcement does not specify the exact charger power ratings, hardware manufacturers, concession duration or payment arrangements. Those details will determine how the sites operate in practice and should not be inferred from the rapid and ultra-rapid labels alone.