Private chargers around the county
Over the last three years, East Lothian Council has been installing and maintaining a comprehensive network of public on-street chargers and high-profile charging hubs. Our tariff has been deliberately set at a level which encourages private investment in this area, and we are now starting to see a number of commercial chargepoint operators coming to the fore. We are also working with developers to ensure new houses are equipped for an electric future, and new commercial and office facilities have appropriate chargers for staff and visitors.
By way of providing concrete illustration of the variety of solutions out there, this page lists the wide range of privately owned charging infrastructure already in East Lothian or coming soon.
New residential developments
Below we provide links to sites where developers are implementing innovative solutions to provide each household with a charger connected to their private electricity supply, even if they park in a communal area:
- Belway at Elphinstone (Planning Application Number 21/01608) has provided space for (and a financial contribution towards) Destination chargers to serve adjacent community facilities, as well as a private charger for every household, inlcuding those in factored parking courtyards.
- Persimmon at Blindwells (Planning Application number 21/00308/AMM) engaged with our Road Services Team early in the Planning process to ensure it provided private charging facilities for each dwelling at a low cost. In most cases this was achieved by installing private chargers on back garden boundaries, adjacent to a factored (shared) parking space.
- Ogilvie at Blindwells (Planning Application Number 22/00449/PM) provided chargers on all driveways and, where communal parking was provided adjacent to the public road, this has been moved behind the footway to allow chargers from gardens to connect to cars without creating a trip hazard
Existing privately operated chargers
- 3 x chargers at Gateside West, Haddington
- 1 x Journey charger installed at Marston’s Inn, Dunbar
- 2 x Destination chargers installed at Mercat Grill, Elphinestone
- 2 x Destination chargers installed at Whitekirk Hill, Whitekirk
- several Destination chargers installed at Scotrail stations
- 1 x Destination charger at Eskmills Industrial Estate, Musselburgh
- 1 x Destination charger at Elvingston Science Centre
- 1 x Destination charger at Gullane Golf Club
- 1 x Destination charger at Thurston Manor
- 2 x Destination chargers at Tesco, North Berwick
- 2 x Destination chargers at Tesco, Musselburgh
- 2 x Destination chargers at Dunbar Garden Centre
- several Destination chargers at Queen Margaret University, Musselburgh
- several Destination chargers at Torness Power Station
New commercial charging hubs which are expected
- 10 x Journey chargers at EuroGarages at Gladsmuir expected under approved Planning Application 18/00677/PM (page 2)
- 2 x Journey chargers at EuroGarages at West Road, Haddington expected under approved Planning Application 19/00352/P (page 39)
- 4 x chargers at Asda, Dunbar expected under approved Planning Application 20/00135/P
ELC High Schools with publicly accessible chargers
Where are secondary school car parks are open to the public during evenings and this weekends, these can provide convenient places to re-fuel for people who live nearby and do not have facilities for charging at home
- Preston Lodge, Prestonpans
- Knox Academy, Haddington
- Musselburgh Grammar (coming soon)
- Dunbar Grammar (coming soon)
Workplaces
Additionally, as a major employer in East Lothian, we are leading the way in providing chargers for staff to fuel up while parked at work, while also providing charging for our own fleet vehicles. While we do not wish to encourage people to drive to work purely to charge their car, we recognise that this is an attractive option for people who cannot charge at home.
There are grants available for businesses to install car chargers through the Energy Saving Trust: