Charging electric vehicles is set to get cheaper when the council switches on-street chargepoints to a new operator, with 500 due to make the switch next week.
And for a lucky 200 households, it could get cheaper still thanks to a trial of pavement gullies allowing people to run cables into their homes.
The standard, fast and rapid chargepoints, currently managed by Blink Charging UK, will transfer to Believ and Char.gy from Thursday 15 October, following the end of Brighton and Hove City Council’s contract with Blink.
Residents currently using Blink chargepoints should familiarise themselves with the new charging providers and location of their nearest chargepoint. Chargepoints will be accessible via the Believ and Char.gy apps and through compatible third-party charging apps.
The switch will also mean a reduction in most charging costs, with cheaper rates for overnight charging on standard chargepoints and on all fast and rapids chargepoints.
All standard chargepoints are also being replaced with new Char.gy units.
The switch is just part of the work we’re doing to expand on the city’s already growing EV charging network.
500 new chargepoints have already been installed since March with a further 600 planned for the next 6 months. The installation of 50 new rapid chargers is also beginning in October.
It means that Brighton & Hove remains the best connected city outside of London with 86% of households now within a 5 minute walk of a public chargepoint, up from 83% in 2025.
In all, around 1600 new chargepoints are due to be installed over the next 3 years with 6000 planned between now and 2040.
| Type | Blink | char.gy | Believ |
| Standard Overnight | 55p | 39p | N/A |
| Standard Daytime | 55p | 59p | N/A |
| Fast Overnight | 55p | N/A | 41p |
| Fast Daytime | 55p | N/A | 53p |
| Rapid Overnight | 73p | N/A | 48p |
| Rapid Daytime | 73p | N/A | 58p |
The council is also developing plans for a pilot to install almost 200 pavement gullies for homes that don’t have off-street parking using funding from the Department for Transport’s (DfT) EV Pavement Channel Grant.
Gullies would allow a charging cable to be run safely through the pavement from a property to a vehicle parked on the road.
Councillor Trevor Muten, Cabinet member for Transport and City Infrastructure, said: “Brighton & Hove has one of the best EV charging networks in the country but we have no plans to stop here. We are much more ambitious and are driving forward with much more to come. Over the next few years we’re going to be installing hundreds more chargepoints to meet the needs of our city.
“With the popularity of electric vehicles growing, we need to build an infrastructure that’s fit for the future.
“It’s really pleasing the cost of charging will be coming down with the switch to new operators. We want a network that’s affordable and sustainable for our residents, businesses and visitors.”
If they get a really good deal, perhaps nearby houses and flats could plug in.
Pavement gullies are useless if you don’t own the space outside your house, and guess what? You don’t. There is no guarantee that you will be able to park in the space you need in order to use the gully and I foresee lots of rows about, “you parked in my space”.
Not really thought it through again, but no surprises there.
The majority of the existing and new chargers in the city centre are not located at spaces reserved for EVs. As such they are useless most of the time as they are blocked by IVE vehicles. What’s the point of all the expense?
I second that.
When will the gully trial start been on the pipeline for ages?