Hammerson and Aberdeen Standard Investments, joint owners of the flagship destination Brent Cross, have unveiled plans for a landlord-owned electric vehicle (EV) charging facility at Brent Cross Shopping Centre. A 236-bay EV charging hub will be installed at the centre, and the hub will become part of Franklin Energy’s LiFe Network.
The hub will be installed and operated by Franklin Energy – and should be completed in 2026. The chargers will be supplied by EVBox and installed over a number of phases. Initially, 50 22kW charging points will be installed in the shopping centre’s multi-storey car park, along with two 350kW ultra-rapid units in the Western overflow car park. These will be completed by the end of 2021.
Brent Cross Shopping Centre, a large shopping centre in north London, is located by the Brent Cross interchange and attracted 15–16 million shoppers a year as of 2011.
The fast chargers will take 1-2 hours to fully charge a car battery, providing ample time for customers to enjoy the many retail and leisure offerings available at Brent Cross and complements the average time taken for a visit, which, prior to the pandemic, averaged at 95 minutes.
Franklin Energy says that the hub will not only benefit existing customers visiting the centre but will also provide charging points for cars passing by on the nearby M1, A41 and A406 via the North Circular, which, pre-pandemic, recorded c. 80 million cars passing through Brent Cross’ interchange every year.
Rob Byrne, Managing Director of Franklin Energy, said:
“We look forward to working with Hammerson and Aberdeen Standard Investments to install a new rapid and fast charging hub in anticipation of the mass adoption of EVs amongst the large customer base of Brent Cross Shopping Centre and more widely in the UK. It is a great initiative that reflects the forward-thinking views of Brent Cross’ major stakeholders, and we can’t wait to begin the installation process.”
Franklin Energy’s LiFe Network is expected to have 5,000 public chargers by 2025.
