Blackpool Village Hotel reveals plans to invest in EV infrastructure working with BMW, Ford, Hyundai, Mercedes Benz AG and Volkswagen with Audi and Porsche.

A leading Blackpool hotel is hoping to create its own charging hub for electric vehicles within its grounds.

The Village Hotel on East Park Drive has applied to the council for planning permission to create 12 electric vehicle (EV) charging parking bays.

The scheme would be carried out by infrastructure company Ionity, which is a joint venture of the car manufacturers BMW Group, Ford Motor Company, Hyundai Motor Group, Mercedes Benz AG and Volkswagen Group with Audi and Porsche.

It is building and operating a growing network of high-power charging stations across Europe, with all charging stations open to electric vehicles of any brand.

Ionity has linked up with Village Hotels to deliver electric vehicle charging at all its 33  locations in the UK.

The scheme at the Village Hotel in Blackpool would see the installation of 12 EV charging bays, covered by a canopy housing solar panels which would support powering of the charging points to form an electric hub.

It would result in the loss of 19 existing parking spaces and require the removal of a kerb and two trees, but there would be no changes to the traffic flow around the car park.

Blackpool Council’s Electric Vehicle Strategy, adopted in February 2023, has set a target of providing 210 additional sockets across the town by 2028, which includes working with private operators.

A bid for £1.7m of government funding towards providing more EV charging points was due to be submitted in November last year by the council.

The application will now go before council planners for consideration (reference 24/0024)